Emperor Vader Rules the Galaxy
by joeyf3271
Summary: In this story, Darth Vader overthrew the Emperor after finding out that his children didn't die as he was told they did along with Padme. Padme did die however and Darth Vader killed the Emperor and fought against his Sith ways. He is now a master of light and dark and rules the galaxy with his children who are Masters with the Imperial Knights. Follow them on their quest!
1. Pilot Episode, part 1

**For the last seventeen years, Emperor Anakin Skywalker has ruled the galaxy! He is suit-less and found his twins on Polis Massa where they were born and he also found his wife dead there. He was told by the Emperor that he killed his wife in his anger from the Force choke on Mustafar and he believed he killed her and his unborn child until he raided the asteroid and found the twins there along with Threepio and Artoo who confirmed the children were his. He put them in hiding and killed the Emperor for using him and making him believe that he killed the one person he could never kill.**

 **With his children at his side he ruled not completely with an iron fist but what he said goes and the Imperial Senate has limited power, it is more advisory than anything. The Emperor is liked by most but hated by others and was almost killed more than once but the attempts ultimately failed. The Rebel Alliance is in full strength with the Jedi who survived all of this time and Luke and Leia are eighteen years old and were trained as Dark Jedi, just like their father. He rescinded the Dark Side and overcame it but he still uses certain Dark Side abilities and is still prone to anger and hatred for certain people, organizations and such.**

 **This story is about the Skywalker's and unlike Skywalkers: Rule the Galaxy (one of my other stories) this will be more dark and there is no Padme. There is a third child though and that is Starkiller, Galen Marek who was rescued and trained by Emperor Vader along with his children. He has become a part of the family, he is the same age as the twins who are eighteen while Anakin is forty.**

 ** _Phrases that italicized are thoughts, but they aren't bold like this text._**

 **This is rated T for now but may be upgraded, we'll see though.**

* * *

 **Imperial Palace**

The Emperor sat at the head of the conference table for his weekly Imperial Security briefing as Luke and Leia joined him like they usually do and are representatives of the Imperial Knights as they are both Masters that sit on the Imperial Knights Council both of them masters at both the light side and the dark side. Sitting at the table with the trio was Grand Moff Tarkin, Imperial Military Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Imperial Ruling Council, the Director of ISB, Director of Imperial Intelligence, Grand Vizier and a few other high ranking Imperial's.

"Good morning, everyone." Emperor Skywalker said as he took a sip of caf and picked up his datapad as he was ready to begin the weekly Imperial Security briefing as they do every Friday morning. "Why don't we start with these Rebel scum, what have you to report?"

"Your Majesty," Grand Moff Tarkin said. "They are getting more bold but per your orders we have let them grow and we've let them think that they are actually hurting us. Your plan seems to be working and we have confirmed that a few of the Senators that you have suspected are Rebel Leaders, founders of the Rebel Alliance even. More than that, we uncovered dozens of Rebel bases all across the galaxy."

"I knew that but couldn't act without the proof as they are Senator's and they like to _think_ they have power." The Emperor laughed at that as did everyone else, all they want is power yet the last time they did it ended in the Clone Wars and formation of the Empire. They played into the Sith's hands and were responsible for the collapse of the Republic and the destruction of the Jedi Order. "Are we ready to dissolve the Senate?"

"We have more than enough to shut them down as the Moff's and Grand Moff's now have the forces required to handle what the Senators were supposed to handle yet failed badly at." The Grand Vizier said much to the Emperors delight.

"Excellent, then when the time is right we will come down on them in one final swoop and hopefully end them once and for all." Anakin said with a smile as his plan has so far worked as it was planned too. "What else is there to discuss?"

"There is an uprising on Alderaan, the home of Senator Organa and he is one of the Rebel Leaders and Founders, I know we were all _shocked_ to discover that." The Director of Intelligence reported sarcastically.

"I see, then following Imperial protocol before we launch a full scale invasion to remind everyone of our might and determination." Anakin said looking to the Imperial Joint Chiefs and then to Luke and Leia. "We'll send our Knights. Talk to Senator Organa and the Queen, which is his wife and if you can't get them to come to terms with reality then you can perform aggressive negotiations. If that fails," Anakin looked to Grand Admiral Motti and Grand General Tagge, "you will launch your invasion. Therefore Admiral, General prepare your forces and rendezvous at a nearby system if the negotiations fail then you will get the go ahead from me to secure the planet and to install an Imperial Garrison on Alderaan. I do not want the Senator or Queen to be harmed, save them for me, if it comes to that. I have something special in store for them."

"We'll get right on it once we're done here, Your Majesty." Admiral Motti said as he straightened his Imperial Navy uniform, he was always nervous around the Emperor as were most people except for his children and Grand Moff Tarkin, so it seemed.

"Good." The Emperor said with a nod as he looked around the table, most meetings were busy but this week there wasn't much going on. "Masters, anything to report for the Knights?"

Luke looked to Leia and Leia looked to Luke before Leia decided to speak, "we have recruited four new Force sensitive children with midichlorian counts being at least eight thousand and they were all youngling's and will be instructed at the Knight's Temple. We have performed numerous missions this past week and all were successful with nothing to report about them relating to Imperial Security."

"Adding to what Leia said, we haven't had any problems that we couldn't handle ourselves. Every mission has been successful with the slaughter of a few weak Jedi and the Empire is mostly secure except of course for the various rebel cells and for those worlds who want to stand up for a fruitless cause or harbor more Jedi." Luke said with disgust at that word. "Other than that, you received our report and as Leia said, nothing relates to Imperial Security."

"Good." Anakin said happily, he liked hearing that there is nothing to report relating to Imperial Security. "Master Leia, I want you to go back to your duties and Master Luke and Knight Jade will go to Alderaan with Senator Organa and sit down and talk with him and the Queen, _nicely_. If all else fails, the Imperial Military will get to have some target practice, everyone knows it has been quite a while. Dismissed."

Everyone stood to leave and Anakin held back his children and motioned for them to follow him to his huge oval shaped spacious office and he took a seat on his desk. "How are the Knight's really doing?"

"We're doing good, dad." Luke replied as he messed with his armor and placed his hands on his waist. "Our uniforms work as expected and have completely deactivated lightsabers as they were swung at us, of course no Jedi did that but we tested it on each other and they're working great."

"Good to hear." Anakin replied with a smile, he had his family and this couldn't be better but he was still empty without Padme and he wasn't interested in any women, even after all this time nor did he believe that would change in the future. "Leia?"

She looked distracted and Anakin cleared his throat and she looked up and looked embarrassed.

"What's happening in that brain of yours?" Anakin asked as she looked away and walked to the window and Anakin already knew the answer from that reaction. "Boy trouble, I take it."

"Yeah, it's boy trouble." Luke confirmed since his sister didn't answer.

"You do realize that when the Emperor asks you a question, that you're supposed to answer said question?" Anakin said looking at Leia as he stood and walked next to her. "Leia, I am talking to you."

"Just drop it dad, it's nothing I can't handle." She said trying to reassure her father but to no avail.

"If you could handle it on your own then you wouldn't be acting this way, little one." Anakin said placing his arm over her shoulder. "Leia, I am your father. You can talk to me without any of our conversation ever getting out of this room."

"I know, dad." She replied with a sigh. "It's Lieutenant Han Solo, Imperial Navy. I really like him but he doesn't know me and he won't admit how he feels about me. He always calls me princess, yet doesn't know my true identity since I gave him a different name, well same name but he doesn't know I am that Leia Skywalker and he talks a good game but then he just pushes me away. It's like he has commitment issues or something."

"I see." Anakin said, it was easier talking to Luke about these sort of things, girl problems he can discuss but boys... that was a different story and he'd very much rather Leia not be in any relationships. Also this Lieutenant Han Solo has to be at least twenty one or two but he won't get into that since Padme was five years older than he was and he doesn't want to be a hypocrite even though it is his baby girl he's talking about. "Well, you can always tell him how you feel about him and if he doesn't give you the answer you want to hear, then leave him. You are a beautiful young woman and remind me very much of your mother, she took my heart and soul when I first laid eyes on her when I was nine years old. If he doesn't feel that way about you, then he doesn't deserve you. I worked hard to get your mother to admit to love me and it took us being sentenced to death for her to admit it. She was a Senator and I was a Jedi Knight, attachments were forbidden and she refused to be more than friends with me because she didn't want me to get kicked out of the order. Even when we were married we wouldn't tell anyone and didn't, same when she was pregnant with the two of you, she didn't even tell her family. The Imperial Knight's have that freedom, the freedom to live their lives without having to hide who they are. Of course, you may not want to tell him who you are but that is up to you, it isn't forbidden. You just have to be you and that is pretty damn good. I say to Sith hell with Solo, you can have any guy you want and any guy would be lucky to have you in their lives."

Leia had tears in her eyes as she hugged her father and Anakin smiled as he knew it would work. She was a lot like Padme and that made things easier for him, he knew how to get to her. Anakin also made a mental note to check on this Han Solo to make sure he isn't a threat or danger to his baby girl, his little angel.

"Thank you, daddy." She said as she looked up at him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Anytime, my little Angel." Anakin said with a smile as he turned his attention to them both since they were now paying attention. "Luke take Knight Jade with you to Alderaan and report back. The Grand Admiral and Grand General will lead the military operation if it comes to that. As Knight's you know what to do. Leia, what are your plans for the day?"

"I have some lectures today to teach the Youngling's apparently I am quite popular with the little ones." Leia said rolling her eyes, she didn't like little kids very much, they were cute and innocent but they were kids and annoying.

"That is a gift, I am not very good with children." Anakin admitted as he immediately thought of the youngling's he killed while he was under the spell of the Dark Side. "I had to learn on my own how to raise the two of you and that was hard, raising one Skywalker is hard enough, never mind twins... with almost as much midichlorians as myself!"

"Oh, daddy, you know we were little angels." Leia said with a smile and Anakin burst out laughing.

"Right, you are my little angel but you weren't little angels." Anakin admitted as he almost drove himself insane being not only the Emperor ruling over a Galactic Empire but also a father to two powerful Force sensitive children. "You were little devils, I am just happy that I still have my blond hair and not grey. I can't wait for either of you to have children then you will understand, especially if you have twins."

"Not gonna happen." Luke said avoiding eye contact with Anakin as Anakin smiled and disagreed.

"I don't know, you and Knight Jade..." Anakin said throwing that out there as he knew they were trying to hide their relationship from him and Luke totally gave it away with the shocked look on his face. "What? You thought I didn't know? I am the Emperor, I know everything, Luke. I am your father as well, I can see the look in your eyes when you're with her. I know you well enough by now, it's no big deal anyways, as long as you don't let your personal feelings get in the way during a mission together. I've done it more than once and it didn't always go my way. I just don't want either of you to get injured or killed because you were trying to be a hero or doing something that clouded your judgement. That is why attachments were forbidden by the Sith and Jedi but I know everyone needs love."

"What about you?" Luke asked giving him a look with his bright blue eyes that made Anakin think he was looking in the mirror at his younger self, when he was innocent and pure in the light side. "You've only ever been with one woman, mom. It is okay to move on, mom would want you too."

"I know, Luke." Anakin said with a sigh as he turned to look out the window at the busy city outside as he watched the speeders glide by in the distance. "I just never had any romantic feelings for any woman besides your mother. She was my first and only love. I am perfectly content with my life now and I have you two in my life. Which is why I don't want either of you doing anything insane that'll get you killed. You are no me, I didn't get as good as I was until I was at least twenty then I got better throughout the Clone Wars. I am the Chosen One and I fulfilled my destiny and I was brought into the universe by the midichlorians themselves. I just want you to be careful out there and listen to the Force. I never understood it before, I was impatient, rash, I just acted without thinking and it cost me everything. It cost me your mother... and I don't want either of you to experience what I had experienced."

"We love you, dad." Luke and Leia said together as they both hugged their father knowing his story all too well and knowing he'll never forgive himself for his short stint as a Sith Lord but he has made up for it, they believe, he just doesn't see it and he has to live with the memories.

 _You are no Sith_ , they both thought.

"I love you guys, too, more than anything." Anakin said as he kissed them both on the top of their foreheads as they held onto him tight. "Just be yourselves and remember your training. As long as you do that, you can take down anything or anyone."

"We know." They both said hearing that phrase, quite often and have gotten quite used to it.

"Alright, you're free to go, Masters." Anakin said deciding he wasted enough of their time. "Remember Sunday night dinner here."

"We know dad, it is a weekly dinner on the same night at the same time." Luke said as he and Leia exited Anakin's office leaving him to his own thoughts.

 _What would I do without them?_ He asked himself, but he didn't want to know the answer to that. _I just wish Padme was here..._

* * *

 **Imperial Knights Temple**

The Imperial Knights Temple is the former Jedi Temple however everything related to the Jedi was removed and replaced with the equivalent Imperial Knight decor. The Temple also underwent renovation over the years since it was damaged from Operation Knightfall but that was eighteen years ago and the damage was renovated long ago and even some expansion occurred.

Leia and Luke entered the Temple and walked right past the Temple guards who were dressed in the same uniforms as the Knights except wore helmets and looked like statues. They were both worried about their father, every year during their birthday and Empire Day, he gets sad and withdrawn, but they know that is because when they were born, their mother died. They also knew their father didn't blame them, he only blamed one man and that was one man they couldn't find; Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"I can't stand seeing him like that!" Luke said clearly frustrated at seeing his father hurt, he hasn't even moved on, he just keeps reliving the past.

"I know Luke but there isn't anything _we_ can do." Leia said putting her hand on Luke's shoulder as she thought of something, "why don't we get him to talk to Rharo?"

Luke burst out laughing, "oh yeah! Like dad is going to sit down and open up about his feelings! Come on, Leia you and I both know that won't ever happen!"

"Then we need to make it happen." Leia rebutted not seeing what was so funny although she did agree with her brother. "He hasn't spoken about what happened all those years ago, he told us but he doesn't tell us everything, he just keeps them bottled up. He needs to talk about them like he makes us talk about stuff that bothers us! We have to turn the tables and force him to sit down and talk to Rharo. It'd be good for him and no one is more discreet than him."

"I agree with you, I just don't think dad would be open to it." Luke said sadly as he knew his father needed to speak to a therapist, especially Rharo who was a Master and a Healer trained in psychology mostly having to do with traumatic situations. "He is a strong man and is very good at keeping his emotions in check, more than now than ever. He isn't going to want to discuss what happened eighteen years ago!"

"Well if anyone can make him do it, it's us." Leia said stepping before her brother and placing her hands on his shoulders and looking him straight in the eye. "We just have to melt his heart like we always do and force him to do it. We'll do it at Sunday's dinner."

"Very well, we'll give it a shot." Luke caved in and nodded and Leia smiled and let him go. "But if he flips out at the idea then you're taking the blame."

"Good, now let's carry on." She said as they moved further into the Temple, Luke had to find his Knight and Leia had a class to teach.

* * *

Luke found his Knight, Mara Jade and they left the Temple together and walked to where the speeders were as they had to retrieve Senator Organa before flying to Alderaan for _peaceful negotiations._ Luke held the Senator responsible as well for the death of his mother since it is well known to he and Leia that he played a role in keeping their mother from their father. Of course, the Senator doesn't know they know and he thinks he made a clean getaway from it all but the droids ratted him out when Anakin retrieved them and downloaded their memory banks and reviewed all of the footage and conversations that took place and the Senator was all over them. He even planned to take Leia for his own daughter and send Luke to Tatooine, if he hadn't shown up when he did then he may never have found out about his children.

"You're not going to kill the Senator, are you?" Knight Jade asked Master Luke as she knew the story well, Luke told her over the years and they've formed a more than professional relationship, he thought they were keeping it quiet but apparently everyone knew or at least the Emperor.

"Not today." Luke replied with a smile. "If negotiations don't go well, we have orders to ensure that he and the Queen aren't killed. The Emperor wants to handle that on his own, its personal for him."

"Of course it is, not only is he a Rebel leader trying to undermine the Empire and the Emperor but he also played a role in his wife's death." Mara said and knew she should've kept her mouth shut, Luke always wished he got to know his mother but that was taken from him because of the Jedi and the Senator, all he had was the speeches, holograms and holovids of her over the years from before he was born.

"Yeah." Luke replied clearly not okay with what she said but it wasn't her fault, he knew and he flew the speeder to the Senate building ignoring all of the traffic regulations, not only is he an Imperial Knight and Knights are above the law but he is also the Prince of the Galactic Empire and he is allowed to do whatever he wants. "Let's get this over with." He said parking at the Senate building and turning the speeder off before he and Knight Jade walked into the Senate building right past the Senate Guards and to the turbolift to go to the eighth floor where the Senator's office was located.

Luke and Mara knew the building like the back of their hand and had no problem finding the office and they entered and walked past the Senator's secretary and into his main office where he was meeting with a couple of Senators.

"Excuse me!" The Senator shouted as he stood. "I am in the middle of a meeting here, why don't you go make an appointment or wait in the other room!"

Luke shook his head as Mara smiled and held back as Luke walked up to the Senator and got in his face. "Senator, you are coming with me. If you refuse then you will dragged out, what do you say?" Luke said with his best diplomatic voice as possible.

"You have absolutely no right to take me anywhere!" He said in a high pitched voice which Mara found to be amusing, Luke on the other hand wasn't amused.

"It seems that Alderaan is trying to cause an uprising against the Empire, you will come with us or we will restrain you and charge you with treason against the Empire. I don't think I have to tell you the seriousness of this situation." Luke explained then looked to Mara, the Senators and back to Senator Organa, "or do I?"

"Senators, if you'll excuse me." He said looking to Luke then back to the Senators, "we'll have to pick this up another time." He then turned back to Luke, "after you Master Knight."

Luke and Mara led the way back to the speeder and back to the Temple where they landed in the hangar bay and signed out one of the Imperial Knight Shuttles and departed the hangar bay flying out of the atmosphere of Imperial City and into the blackness of space. Once far enough away and once safe to do so, they set their course for Alderaan.

The Imperial Knights have a fleet of Lambda-class T-4a shuttles they use for official and unofficial business. All of the shuttles were modified and painted red, they also have the Imperial Knights logo on the sides, top and bottom of the shuttle. Imperial Knight starships are considered Imperial diplomatic vessels and firing on them is a declaration of war, unlike the Jedi, the Knights take care of their own and if anyone kills a Knight, all the other Knights will be mobilized to hunt down those responsible. The Knights use their emotions to drive them, to make them better and they learn to master their emotions whereas the Jedi taught their members to purge their emotions.

* * *

 **Alderaan**

Galen Marek sat in a Rebel base on the planet Alderaan where the Rebels and Jedi were hiding. The base on Alderaan was top secret and outside the main city and hidden away inside the mountain bordering Aldera. Very few knew of its existence but the Queen and Senator were the ones who created it and sanctioned it. Very few worlds openly supported the Jedi even after the Empire was created but Alderaan was one of them. Many Jedi have fled to Alderaan but over the years the number has dwindled down to less than a dozen and there was only one Master, the rest were Knights or Padawans.

Galen Marek felt sick having to work with them and speaking against the Empire and Emperor but it was his assignment and he pulled it off masterfully as he did as ordered and brought them together officially. He was the one responsible for the formation of the Rebel Alliance, before it was just those acting against the Empire, it was unorganized terrorism but since he brought the different cells together and formed the Alliance with many wealthy and powerful people, it was more organized and he got the location of every Rebel base in the galaxy.

For a time he wasn't sure if he was being fed misinformation but as he made his reports to the Emperor and had some bases checked out from afar, it turned out to be the correct information and all of the reports were compiled and surveillance begun. Galen didn't think it'd work but the performance between him and the Emperor all over the holonet news seemed to work, the Senator of Alderaan bought it and offered him sanctuary. He accepted it.

He'd wish for nothing more than to stick his red blade through the Rebel scum and Jedi but his assignment isn't over yet and until it is, he has to play nice and act like he has been for the last two years. He never thought'd he miss Luke and Leia who have become his family over the years as much as he does now but he knows he'll see them again.

It was time for his monthly report and he made his way to the surface and out to a spot he uses frequently and knows that no one knows about as it is off the trail and hidden from view, in a crevasse but even with that in mind he was still wary of someone catching him. He reached out with the Force and confirmed he was alone as he knelt down on he knee and called the Emperor on the holocomm as it was connected quickly.

"Galen, it is good to see you're alright." The Emperor said and Galen noticed that he has definitely changed over the years. When the man first killed his father right in front of him, he was cold and angry but over the years that dwindled and he was warmer and happier.

"Thank you, Master." Galen said with a smile as he was ready to give his report.

"Before you report, just know that there is an uprising that is occurring on Alderaan, or so Imperial Intelligence said and I sent Master Luke and Knight Jade to check it out. They'll be meeting with the Queen and Senator, so make sure you stay away from the Palace or you'd know what they'll be forced to do. Luke knows of your assignment but Mara doesn't, she will try to take you into custody or worse and I don't want to lose either of you." The Emperor said and Galen felt bittersweet, they were so close but they couldn't talk or hang out like old times, it made him feel more lonely and apparently the Emperor sensed it. "Don't worry, Galen. You'll be coming home soon. Thanks to you, we have everything we need to shut them down as well as the Imperial Senate. However it will be a major operation, the biggest we've ever undertaken and it will take some time to plan."

"I understand, Master." Galen said with a sigh, he couldn't wait until it happened. "How is everyone?"

"Everyone is holding up, but Luke and Leia miss you." The Emperor confirmed, it didn't take him long to discover that. "They're the only ones who know you're undercover, they didn't at first since it had to appear to be believable but they were relieved when the incident turned out to be staged. Luke is romantically involved with Knight Jade and Leia is involved with a man named Han Solo."

Galen laughed and shook his head, "that doesn't surprise me, Luke and Mara were always in love with each other and Leia had feelings for the Cadet for some time, of course he isn't a Cadet anymore but he is a bit shady. He didn't have a very nice childhood and he is afraid of commitment, Leia won't exactly be happy with him."

"I told her as much but that is her choice, he is a Lieutenant now apparently and if hurts Leia then he'll be hurt by me." The Emperor promised. "What about you? How are you holding up?" The Emperor knew the boy since he was just three and he actually despises his parents as he does the Jedi, blaming them for his parents death. Anakin told him the truth about what happened and why he did what he did and since the moment he found him, he knew he'd make a good Knight. Having two parents that were both Jedi will definitely make you powerful, his midichlorian count isn't as much as the twins, its actually half theirs but he is still strong. Just because your midichlorian count isn't as high as Anakin's or the twins doesn't mean you'll be weaker in the Force, it just means that it doesn't come as easily to you but if you train and train you can accomplish wonders.

"I am doing that, holding up but I don't like conspiring with the enemy." Galen admitted as he looked down avoiding eye contact, Anakin knew he didn't like it but he trusted him with this and knew he could handle it. "I am hanging in there though."

"Good, we'll get you out soon enough and when that time comes you'll get to kill the Jedi and Rebel scum at your base." Anakin told him and knew he would enjoy that. "What have you to report?"

"I started spreading the dissent that you spoke of, I started the uprising." Galen admitted but that was something Anakin already knew, it was a part of his assignment. Alderaan was a constant thorn in their side and Anakin will be glad when the Royal Family is dissolved and punished except it won't be the punishment they'll be expecting. "The Queen and Senator know of it, although they'll say they can't control the thoughts and opinions of their people, they are well aware of it and even support it, quietly of course."

"Of course." Anakin nodded and smiled, "nice work, Galen. Within the next month the Rebels should be done and the galaxy will remember who is in charge. When we pull you out, you'll be made an Imperial Hero and you will get your spot on the Council, as promised. Take care of yourself and keep your head down until I tell you otherwise."

"Thank you, Master." Galen said as Anakin ended the transmission to allow them both to get back to work.

* * *

The Imperial Knights shuttle touched down just outside the Aldera Royal Palace and they were amazed at the sight. It was beautiful, built on a lake and the architecture was something that rivaled that of Imperial City. It was truly elegant and the people of Alderaan act and dress as such. The people dress in luxurious apparel, most of it simple and white, others grey but its clear that they like the simple things in life, the buildings are designed exquisitely but the colors are simple and everything is grey or silver.

Luke and Mara took their eyes off the architecture as they followed the Senator into the Palace from the Palace landing bay where they landed their shuttle. The city wasn't that big but the skyscrapers could definitely fit enough people inside and they knew that there were other cities around the planet that also housed people and the population of the planet was around two billion.

"Your mother used to like coming here." Bail said to Luke although he didn't look at the boy, he was trying to turn him and Luke knew it.

"I don't want to hear you mention my mother." Luke said like he was talking to Rebel scum, and as it turned out he was. "My mother died because of you. If Obi-Wan left her on Mustafar she would be here today but he decided to take her from my father who could've saved her and she died giving birth to my sister and I. She died because of you and your idiotic beliefs in democracy."

"Is that what your father told you?" Bail asked and laughed, "it seems like he didn't tell you everything about her."

"As a matter of fact, he told us everything about her." Luke rebutted as he got in front of the Senator and blocked his path as he got in the mans face for the second time in less than a few hours. "He told us of his stint as a Sith and what he did, he told us about what he did to our mother, he told us everything and he even told us how you and Yoda and Obi-Wan planned to abduct us and separate us. What gives you the right to take a child that doesn't belong to you? What gives you the right to separate twins?"

Bail was at a loss for words, he didn't think Vader would tell them the truth, he thought that he'd turn them into the monster that he became, the monster he shows the galaxy. It turned out that once again Vader surprised him, even though he goes by Anakin Skywalker again, Bail won't think of him the way he was, when he was the Hero With No Fear. The infamous Jedi Knight who was fearless and the face of the Jedi Order. Nope, he'll think of him as the man he became, the Sith that he became and what he did in that month until he found his twins, Bail was just surprised that Luke knew.

"What? You didn't think we knew of your plans?" Luke asked and looked to Mara and they both laughed. "We know who you are and what you did. Now you have the chance to save your planet, control your people or the Emperor will see that the Imperial Military does and you and the House of Organa will be no more."

* * *

 **I like the Imperial Knight's uniform from the Fel Empire, so we'll use the same uniform for them here. The ranks for the Imperial Knight's are Younglings (children in training), Apprentices (mostly teenagers who are chosen by a Knight or Master Knight to be trained in the field), Knight (fully trained in the ways of the Force, dark side and light side but not all dark side powers are taught), Master Knight's (Master Knight's sit on the Imperial Knight's Council and lead the Knights like the Jedi Council) and last but not least is the Grand Master (who is always the Emperor, so long as the Emperor is a Force sensitive user as it will remain since the Empire belongs to the Skywalker's).**

 **This is the beginning, it is a two part opening. In the later chapters we'll delve into the past as the twins will try and get their father to speak to the therapist who will make him relive his past in order to leave it there and move on.**

 **I hope you like it! Please let me know! Thanks!**


	2. Pilot Episode, part 2

**BlueLightning22: I agree people wouldn't think he'd make a good parent especially not being a Sith, but you will see what made him a good parent. With all parents, they have a lot to learn even if you are the Chosen One, a powerful Jedi Knight and a powerful Sith Lord and the Emperor of the Galactic Empire. Leading an Empire is easier than raising a Skywalker...**

 **Darth Retaliation: Of course! You have to love Starkiller! He will be more active in the later chapters since he is undercover now but the take down of the Rebel scum and the dissolution of the Senate will happen within the next few chapters... or will it?**

 **Michael: Thanks! I am glad you like it!**

 **WeylandCorp 4: Thanks for your thorough review! I do agree that people seemed too perfect or open about things but you'll realize that isn't true in the coming chapters, they know better than to lie to the man who can easily read their minds, is the Emperor and their father. Luke and Leia being masters is because they were trained by their father and he is Emperor and besides him, they are the strongest Force users, they may lack experience but the Emperor trusts them and knows they can handle the pressure. I was considering other names but I really like the Imperial Knights of the Fel Empire except my Knights are different since they use both sides of the Force just as the Emperor does, master of both seems like a good balance to me. Anakin/Vader doesn't like the Jedi so it wouldn't make sense to call it the Imperial Jedi since after becoming a Sith he saw them for what they were and didn't like it, and he didn't like the Sith either after losing Padme and finding out he was manipulated by Sidious the whole time.**

 **I do agree that being a Knight in the Imperial Knights may be confusing but it was that way in the Jedi ranks except of course they weren't Jedi Jedi like the Knights are Knights but it is similar. Galen Marek in the Force Unleashed was ordered by Vader to form the Rebel Alliance and as such he would know as much about it as Senator Organa or Senator Mothma, I realize the Alliance can't be eliminated just like that and it won't be but a large chunk of it could be eliminated. The Senate idea and the Moff Council idea is a good idea and I could make the Moff Council be administrators of systems and planets while the Senators represent the wishes of the people, that could work. But the Senate will have to dissolved before it can be recreated to support this idea.**

 **Femalefarrier: I will keep it going! I am glad you're loving it!**

 **And I know the story is called Emperor Vader, yet I refer to the Emperor as Anakin and Skywalker but he acts more like Vader as you'll see than he does as Anakin but he prefers to go by Anakin rather than Vader since that was the name that his dead former master gave him, he prefers the name given to him by his mother.**

 **As you'll also notice we don't follow canon after Episode 3 on Mustafar, Anakin isn't in a suit therefore things tend to change especially since he found his children as infants, and took over the Empire very early on. Events won't match the timeline on canon or legends, therefore some may seem out of place, but for the story, it isn't.**

 **Emperor Vader Rules the Galaxy: Chapter 2, Pilot Part 2**

* * *

 **Aldera Royal Palace, Alderaan**

Luke and Mara were escorted by Senator Organa up to the throne room of his wife, Queen Breha. It was an elegant room with two throne chairs, one for the Queen and one for her husband, the Prince Consort and Senator for Alderaan. It was a pristine white like most rooms in the Palace, it seemed to Luke that they like cleanliness as everything was sparkling clean and the same pristine white. The throne chairs were grey and side by side and of equal size, grey and white seem to be the colors of Alderaan.

"His Royal Highness, Master Luke Skywalker, Knight Mara Jade, may I present my wife, Her Majesty, the Queen of Alderaan Breha Organa." The Senator and Prince Consort Bail Organa said as the Knights bowed in respect as they always do and stood side by side facing them as the Senator took his seat next to his wife.

Luke almost scoffed at the Her Majesty part, she wasn't a Majesty... his father was Your Majesty or His Majesty and he ruled the whole Galactic Empire, what did she rule? A small insignificant planet? Big difference.

"Master Skywalker, we were close with your mother." The Queen said with a smile as she saw the young man who looked an awfully lot like his father. "She was a wonderful woman, I wish she were still here with us..."

"We're not here to discuss the past." Luke said rashly, that was a topic he had no wish to discuss with the wife of the man who held a part in her death and tried to take his sister from him when they were just tiny little defenseless infants. "We are here to discuss the uprising against the Empire from your people here on Alderaan."

"I am sorry, Master." She said with disdain as she looked to her husband and back at the Knights. "I believe you're the victim of bad intelligence."

"Your Majesty, or whatever style you go by, we received very good intelligence." Knight Jade said as she took a step forward, she didn't like people lying to her and although the Queen is good at blocking her thoughts, she still gives off some thoughts and emotions and she knows very well that the Knights don't make futile trips. "We don't know if you're working with the Rebel Alliance but you might as well be, if you're allowing an uprising against the Empire on your planet. You don't have to agree with it, but you do have to abide by the law. The Empire is a legal government, it is the official government of the Old Republic and Alderaan falls under its jurisdiction as do the former Confederacy of Independent Systems and all of the planets annexed by the Galactic Empire since its inception. Failure to enforce Imperial Laws here on Alderaan will result in Imperial occupation. Alderaan is supposedly a peaceful planet, if you wish for it to remain that way without being policed by the Empire then you should quell any rebellion since we know your people support you and will do as you ask."

"On the other hand, if you don't do as Knight Jade has requested then you should know that there is an Imperial Fleet preparing to come here and set up an Imperial Garrison which will be administered by a new Imperial Moff." Luke said subtly, knowing they'll know what that means. "If you wish to remain in charge and in control of your planet then you should prove it. Knight Jade and I will be here for the next twenty four standard hours and if you fail to comply with our request then the next step is aggressive negotiations and if that doesn't work then we'll let the Emperor know and he will give the order to the Grand Admiral and Grand General in charge of the Imperial Fleet and Imperial Army Forces and you'll have Imperial Troops marching up and down your streets and occupying your planet by tomorrow evening. I don't think either of us want that, now do we?"

"Of course, not." Senator Organa said as he looked to his wife and shrugged, it was up to her, she is the Queen and Ruler of the planet not the Senator.

"We will see to it that this... so-called uprising is put down before it begins." The Queen promised and smiled doing her best fake smile, everyone knows that she has enough diplomatic experience to pull it off but the Knight's saw right through it.

"Good!" Luke said pulling off his best happy voice as he wanted to take a look around Alderaan and he knew Galen was around somewhere and as much as he wanted to see him, he knew he couldn't since Jade didn't know about it and that could blow his cover. "We'll be around, if you need us just look for the people in the red armor."

Luke and Mara bowed again before excusing themselves and making their way out of the throne room and out of the Aldera Royal Palace as quickly as possible. Mara knew that Luke wasn't comfortable around either of them and she knew why, but she wasn't going to ask or push it.

* * *

 **Imperial Palace, Imperial City**

Emperor Skywalker sat in his office with Grand Moff Tarkin, the Director of ISB, the Director of Imperial Intelligence, the General in charge of Imperial Military Intelligence and Master Ahsoka Tano of the Imperial Knights who is mostly an instructor but with all Knights and Masters, she is also in the field and oversees the Intelligence Directorate for the Knights which is the clandestine intelligence branch which oversees all of its covert operatives that are spread throughout the galaxy except for Galen Marek who is considered a traitor.

"Let's begin, shall we?" The Emperor asked as he looked around his office as he sat behind his large spotless desk. He took a sip of caf which he always does to keep awake during these boring meetings and he read various reports on his datapad as he looked to those who mostly made up the team of the Imperial Security briefings but this isn't a security briefing, it is a pre-mission briefing. "We have compiled the full list of Rebel bases, the leaders of the Alliance including those connected to the Senate and other wealthy benefactors who would like nothing more than to overthrow us to bring back democracy. Democracy, I wonder whose bright idea that was. Like all of these different worlds and species would actually agree on something that would benefit all of their worlds? No, I don't think so and the collapse of the Republic proved that especially with the corruption from the Senators who cared more about themselves and their bank accounts than their planets and systems. I am done ranting about something so foolish, now where are we?"

"We have met as you requested and we have come up with a three phase plan for this operation." Director Armand Isard, the Director of the Imperial Intelligence said as he handed the Emperor a datapad with the phases detailed. "Phase one is to send out our forces to each of the systems in question and ensure that everyone and everything is in place. Phase two is to surround the complexes that the suspects are in and the final phase is to take them down, obviously but it would be pointless to raid a complex that was abandoned or if the suspects already moved on."

"While the forces are moving into place and by forces we mean ISB, Stormtrooper Corps, Imperial Navy, Imperial Army, the Imperial Office of Criminal Investigations as well as the Imperial Knights." Director of ISB, Lord Crueya Vandron, of the House Vandron in Senex-Juvex said as he spoke with ease, he was use to these sort of briefings with the Emperor. "While they're moving into place, we would ask for you to call for an emergency session of congress and that is when you can dissolve the Senate and for those Senators that are connected to the Rebel Alliance, they could be arrested there by the Stormtroopers and your Royal Guardsmen."

"Meanwhile the Knights will coordinate with the Imperial Forces and help take down the Rebel Alliance bases since we know of at least a dozen that contain at least one Jedi." Master Tano said speaking up as she did with ease considering the Emperor was her former Master, even though she still calls him Skyguy when everyone else isn't around.

"Do you have a date in mind for this operation?" Anakin asked as he didn't really want to spread his forces thin, he'd rather catch them all on one planet or a handful of planets but that seemed unlikely to happen unless Galen could somehow make it happen or they could leak bad intel about some major imperial operation that'll wipe out a planet or a secret doomsday weapon, but Anakin stopped thinking as Grand Moff Tarkin answered his question.

"We were planning for just over a month from today." The Grand Moff replied as he was just as eager to get rid of the Rebels, he wanted to control the Empire but knew that would never happen, especially not now but he was satisfied with what he had.

"How many different location are we talking about here?" He asked again as he formulated his own plan.

"We're talking about just over seventy locations, but that is actual locations." Director Vandron replied. "We still have people that are known to move around and there is no telling where they'll actually be as well as starships that could be in space at the time of our mobilization."

"So, in other words there is a good chance that people will slip through and we can deal with more rebel cells in the future?" Anakin asked rhetorically. "I know that not everyone is nor will be satisfied with the Empire and I don't give a damn about them, what we do is best for the galaxy whether they see it or not. However when someone takes up arms against the Empire and speak against it with their nonsensical propaganda, they declare war and we will retaliate and show the galaxy that if they mess with us that they will pay a hundred fold for their stupidity and that there will be collateral damage and it will be punishment and an example to others.

"So, here is what I want to do." The Emperor said taking another sip of caf and placing it back on the table. "I want to set up a secret doomsday weapon on a remote planet, the only thing is that this weapon will not exist. We'll have the intelligence leaked to the Alliance that we are trying to develop a biological weapon of mass destruction and it will make the blue shadow virus look like a cold. We'll have it leaked that the weapon is almost complete and scheduled to be tested on an unknown planet around the same time as this operation. We'll be there waiting for them and we'll eliminate the Rebels they send to eliminate the weapon that doesn't exist. In order for this to work, we'll have to pick a remote Imperial Base or Outpost and clear it out just in case they plan on bombarding the location from above. The timing will have to be perfect but we'll have a man on the inside informing us of their time of attack and we will plan accordingly. We'll also need a ship with a gravity well projector in place to ensure that no Rebel makes it out alive. Then we also know the high ranking members of this Alliance will want to oversee this operation and we should be able to ensure that they are in one of their Rebel Bases. Can we make this work?"

"I think that's a great idea." Director Armand said with a slight smile and a nod, a little disappointed that it wasn't his idea. "We could make it happen and we'll create fake reports to make it appear as though we've been working on it for years. We'll slip it to on one of our people on the inside who could say they got it from one of their Imperial sources and we should be able to keep our original schedule."

"See that it does, you have my full support and I want to be kept updated. I am the only one with the identity of my informant and it'll stay that way but we'll need to coordinate with him and he'll let me know when the attack will take place. We will plan for that to make our move. I want this plan to be put in motion at our earliest convenience. I also don't want many more people in on this, the fewer that know of our plan, the better. " The Emperor ordered and everyone knows better than to let him down especially when it comes to a ragtag group of Rebels who have no experience in warfare or guerrilla warfare like he does. "Dismissed."

Everyone nodded in acknowledgement and were dismissed as the Emperor had to continue his day, running an Empire the size of a Galaxy, is not easy and he wasn't prepared for it.

 _I am no Sidious_ , he told himself. _But I am a better ruler than he would ever dream of being..._

* * *

 **Imperial Knights Temple**

Master Leia Skywalker finished her first lecture of the day with the youngling's as she taught them about the Force. The Force is what makes a Knight, a Knight. Being a Knight has a lot more to do than just twirling around your lightsaber and trying to kill your enemy or to disarm them, it is about using the Force to defend the Empire and Emperor but the Emperor doesn't need protection.

The younglings learn much about the Force until they're ten years old and that is when they start putting their knowledge to practical use. The younglings also learn a basic education and learn meditation. As they get older they'll be exposed to more and more until they become apprentices to a Knight or Master Knight and put their skills to use in the field where they'll gain their true education in the ways of the Force and how to wield lightsabers successfully.

Wielding a lightsaber isn't easy, it takes more than to know how to swing and block. You have to use the Force and the Force will guide you but it takes more than the Force to win a duel, it takes strength, knowledge and knowing yourself and opponent but mostly yourself. Anakin could easily overpower almost anyone in the galaxy and he knows more about both sides of the Force than anyone else, alive. He is a true master of both the dark and the light and that is what the Knights learn.

They don't preach about anger or hatred, fear or pain but they do allow emotions to play a role in lightsaber dueling. Sometimes you get angry during battle, Anakin has plenty of times but there is a fine line and that line is taught to the younglings and to the Apprentices.

The Chosen One was the one chosen to bring balance to the Force and Anakin believes the best way to do that is to use both sides of the Force as it is intended to be used. He already achieved his destiny and brought balance to the Force but it isn't over yet and just because the Sith were eliminated doesn't mean they won't return and then there are still the Jedi...

You can't have balance by only using the light side, or the pure or natural side as the Jedi liked to call it but there is a dark side, the corrupt side to the Jedi and if there is one then obviously it is available to be used. How can you have balance when you only allow one side? That isn't balance that is just what the Jedi used because they were afraid of the temptations of the dark side, just because most if not every single Sith was evil doesn't mean that the dark side is inherently evil or only to be used by those that are evil.

The Jedi taught their people not to have fear but they all feared the dark side and everything that could lead one to the dark side was forbidden.

Attachments, forbidden.

Anger, forbidden.

Hatred, forbidden.

Fear, forbidden.

All of these are allowed in the Imperial Knights but the students, younglings and Apprentices are taught to hone in on their emotions and not to let their emotions control them. Being angry in battle or feeling hatred for something is permitted in battle but you can't let that anger control you, control your judgement you need to control it. Skywalker knows better than anyone but his love for his children and his beliefs overpowered the way he felt and the pain he felt for the loss of the only woman besides his mother that he ever loved. He would do anything for her and go back in time to prevent what happened... but he couldn't. Instead he decided to do what Padme would've wanted him to do and that was to raise the twins the way they would've. He taught them what Padme taught him, he taught them right from wrong and he let them make their own mistakes. He let them choose their own paths but he also raised them as their Master since they were destined to be Knights, whether or not they wanted to be didn't matter but they still had to be trained because of who they were and how powerful they could become and if they didn't want to remain in the Imperial Knight's that choice was their own but he had to train them nevertheless.

Obi-Wan tried to kill Anakin on Mustafar and if he could kill him or try to kill him then he could surely try and kill his children, or same with Yoda or the other Jedi out there that want nothing more than to kill the man who destroyed the Jedi Order. The man who turned on his friends and family, after being told they turned on him which he believed but then he learned that they didn't necessarily turn on him but they were afraid of him and his power and they were trying to limit him and that was just as bad. He may have been manipulated but he did what he did over his own free will and he would have to live with that, but he knew it was necessary and sometimes you need to do unpleasant things for the overall good. The galaxy is a better place without them, afterall without them there would've been no Clone Wars, millions would've survived but because the Jedi wanted to lead the war and keep the real reasons of the war to themselves which could be considered treason against the Senate, they decided their own fate.

They signed their own death warrant, was his reasoning and he believed that wholeheartedly.

He explained that to the twins and taught them everything he learned, however unpleasant some of it may have been to relive, it wasn't like he wasn't reliving it every day anyway...

Leia left her lecture and decided to go and visit Rharo, she wanted to speak to him to make sure he'd be willing to do it before she and Luke forced their father to see him and talk to him. He dealt with numerous traumatic experiences himself and he helped others work through their own but she was sure that he didn't deal with anything or anyone like her father and that was why it would be hard but he liked challenges and so didn't her father. She just hoped that her father wouldn't Force choke him to death for pushing him and forcing him to open up to him when he kept the way he felt to himself. He always told Leia and Luke that he was okay and the past was in the past but they knew he was trying to look tough which is the way the galaxy sees him, or as a monster as others see him but they knew that he wasn't really a monster. He may have been tough and ruthless and unforgiving to some but to them he wasn't, he never did anything in front of them that would make him look like a bad man or a dangerous man but they knew that he was dangerous. He was a Sith and he was a Jedi, now he was the master of both sides and the Chosen One, no one is more powerful than he is and that makes him dangerous.

She reached the infirmary and walked through to the counselors office where a few different counselors were but she was only looking for one in particular and she found him in his office as the door was opened and she knocked on it to get his attention, "do you have a minute?" She asked as he smiled and waved her in.

"I have all the time in the galaxy for you, Master Leia." Rharo said as he waved her to a seat next to his desk as he stopped doing whatever it was he was doing and he focused on her. Usually a Master goes by the last name like Master Skywalker but since there are two Master Skywalker's, they go by Master Luke and Master Leia by Temple staff and by those in the Knights especially when they're together.

"I was thinking of something and I wanted to run it by you before going through with it." She said cryptically as she wasn't sure what he would think of it, she hoped he'd be open to it as she knew her father needed it but he was the Emperor and the Grand Master of the Imperial Knights. He was the man in charge of everything and had absolute power over everyone in the galaxy.

"I am happy to help, what were you thinking?" He asked as he had no idea what she was about to ask him but was definitely curious.

"My father never spoke about what happened over his lifetime." She said and he knew immediately what she was asking of him but she continued before he could say anything. "He told us about everything and he never held back but he wouldn't go into details about certain things and he had no problem answering any of our questions. However he never spoke to anyone about his feelings about anything. We know it isn't healthy for him to be keeping everything bottled up, now granted he already exploded more than once but he is going to have a meltdown and sure he is good at hiding the way he feels and hiding his emotions when he wants too but every year around Empire day he is a different person. He isn't himself, he puts on a mask and pretends everything is okay but we know it isn't. That is the day he ceased to be the Jedi Knight and that is the day his world was tipped upside down and the next day we were born and our mother died which hurts him more than anything. His mother died, a few years before and she was the only family he had until he married our mom and when she died for a short time he believed he killed her and us. When he found us everything changed for him but his wife, the love of his life was still dead because of him, he may not have killed her but he feels responsible, he believes he did kill her and that is killing him inside. He needs to open up about it and learn to deal with it, I want you to work with him on that, if you're willing to do it."

The Healer was silent for a few moments as he absorbed the request, he knew he never dealt with anything so traumatic before but he also knew that the request had merit and needed to be done. He was honored that she asked him, but he was also fearful of the man as he knew he could easily kill anyone with just thinking it. Most people need to use their hand for a Force choke but he doesn't and he doesn't even need to be in the same room, he just needs to see you and that's all she wrote but he also knew the Emperor was hurting and that his daughter was right. He did need to talk about the past in order to learn to live with it, he appeared to be doing just that but there was a long time when he exploded on people for no reason and couldn't control his emotions, he had emotional breakdowns all because of his deceased wife. It was always her or his mother. He knew he had to do it, regardless of how he felt about it.

"I'd be honored too, however I don't want you to set him up and have us ambush him." Rharo said knowing that he'd be killed instantly if anything like that happened. "I'll talk with him but only if he agrees to it, I don't want to die because you decided to set him up and force him to speak with me. It has to be done on his own accord. If he isn't ready or willing to speak then I can't force him too like I could do to everyone else here. He is the Grand Master and the Emperor, the man who gives orders not the man who takes them."

"Luke and I already have that covered." Leia said with a delighted smile. "We're going to ambush him at Sunday night dinner and force him to meet with you, don't worry we won't let him kill you or injure you physically. Hearing his story though and his experiences may hurt you emotionally and mentally which is why he doesn't speak of it but he never had an easy life, he was always the victim and never allowed to live his life the way he wanted too until he killed the Emperor. That was his first time truly being free." Leia said standing up and heading to the door and opening it. "Thank you, Rharo. I'll let you know what he says and then we can set up an appointment at the Palace?"

"Very well, Master Leia." Rharo replied with a smile as she returned the smile and left the door open and he sighed heavily, he had no idea what he was getting himself into but he was the most experienced and he knew both men, well all three men. Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight. Darth Vader, Sith Lord. Then Anakin Skywalker, Emperor of the Galactic Empire and Master of the Force.

* * *

 **Imperial Palace, Imperial City**

Emperor Anakin Skywalker sat in his office after a long day of meetings, meetings and more meetings. He met with many people and most of them he couldn't care less about, he wouldn't mind running his lightsaber through them or applying the Force choke to them as they sucked up to him and tried to look like the work they did was worthy of his attention and it made him sick. He liked his job and knew what he was doing and what he wanted to do but he didn't like having to meet with people who weren't worthy of his attention like most of them weren't.

However, his last meeting was with an Agent from Imperial Intelligence who delivered the confidential Imperial background report on this Han Solo who seemed to have a life a lot like Anakin and like him he also turned it around.

 **Imperial Security Bureau  
Classified Background Search Query  
Case Officer: Colonel Wulf Yularen**  
 **Case Report: Background Report on subject Han Solo**  
Name: Han Solo  
Place of Birth: Corellia  
Year of Birth/Age: 29 BBY/28 Years Old  
Species: Human  
Gender: Male  
Eye Color: Brown  
Height: 1.8 Meters  
Weight: 80 Kg

 **Detailed Report:** Han Solo was born to Jonash Solo (father) and Jaina Solo (mother) on the planet Corellia, the family was descended from Berethron e Solo who brought democracy to Corellia. He had a quiet childhood until two years later in 27 BBY when he was found in a Corellia Spaceport alone and was taken into custody by the Corellian Security Forces where he went missing and was reported missing by Corellian authorities however they didn't know his name, his fingerprints were taken along with his picture and he was listed as a missing person by the Security Forces Officer that located him. Upon further research, the same Officer located the boy on a security hologram and found him in the custody of one Garris Shrike.

Garris Shrike was a known bounty hunter and was a very quick tempered man. He was suspected to be the boy's father and the missing persons report was rescinded and forgotten about. Garris Shrike was known to be quick to anger and was known for bringing in bounties but most were deceased and beaten badly. He decided eventually to change his career.

Over the years it was determined that was a mistake as Garris Shrike turned out to collect orphans from around the galaxy and decided to train them and turned his life to one of crime. He used the orphaned children for tricks and theft for his own wealth, his own benefit and he was known to beat the children and has done so numerous times on security holograms. He wasn't arrested or charged for the various assaults as he claimed it was an accident or various other excuses and the various Security Forces and Law Enforcement Officers decided not to charge him but put him on record and issued him a warning on three different occasions.

Han Solo was missing for many years after that, he was wanted by numerous planets for smuggling and theft but the charges were dismissed as the time elapsed to capture and charge him have passed and as it was determined that he was coerced into doing so, the charges were expunged from his record.

He was believed to be raised by Wookies and was known to be on Kashyyyk during his childhood and later during the Clone Wars and even during the Age of the Empire before he joined the Imperial Navy.

At the age of eighteen, he applied for the Imperial Academy on Carida and was accepted. He was placed in the Pilot program and finished at the top of his class. He graduated with the rank of Lieutenant and served as a pilot of the TIE Fighter Wing and was assigned to the Avenger and assigned to the 302nd Flight Wing. He was noted on many occasions for his exemplary skills in piloting and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and was made an instructor for new pilots.

He is currently a Lieutenant Commander still and is still an instructor for new pilots. He was however reassigned to the Executor where he is presently assigned and serving. The Executor is the personal flagship to the Emperor, Emperor Anakin Skywalker.

 **END OF REPORT**

Anakin was not impressed. Not only is this man ten years old than his daughter but he is also assigned to his personal flagship but there are over three hundred thousand crewmen onboard and he only knows the senior personnel and the senior personnel of the 501st Legion which is his personal Legion that he still directly commands and they only take orders from him.

Anakin wasn't sure what to do and it wouldn't really be unusual for him to board his ship and seek out this man and talk to him and get to know him and decide from there if he wishes to transfer him or have him executed, or to do it himself.

 _Padme was older than you..._

Five years older, Anakin reminded his subconscious. Five years is a big difference compared to ten years especially considering one decade ago, the twins were only eight and Han Solo was in the Imperial Academy.

 _Maybe, what I decided to say to Leia would get her to move on from him. Why couldn't she date someone closer to her age or better yet... never date anyone._

That was an idea but he knew that wasn't going to happen, he may be the Emperor but he can't place his own child on house arrest when he knew he raised her well. _She would have to make her own decisions_ , he decided. A _nd I would have to trust her judgement but if he hurts her, then the gloves come off, literally._

"Sorry, Your Majesty." Anakin's assistant said as she poked her head into his office as Anakin just stared at her, or rather through her as he was pulled from his thoughts. "Prince Xizor is here."

"Does he have an appointment?" Anakin asked, he hated criminals and especially criminal organizations. He is the Galactic Emperor and doesn't have time for a crime boss with a Royal title, having a Royal title doesn't make you royalty.

"No he doesn't, he insisted that it's important." The assistant said again and Anakin knew he couldn't take his anger out on her, she was just doing her job which isn't an easy one and finding an assistant who is proficient isn't easy.

"Did the slime ball say what he wanted?"Anakin asked knowing he probably didn't say. He always acted as though every problem he had was Anakin's problem, _doesn't he know how to control his own criminal organization?_ Anakin wondered.

"You already know what he thinks of me..." She said causing Anakin to laugh, he knew well.

"Tell him to make it quick or I'll kill him." Anakin said as she smiled and turned to allow the Prince in as the Royal Guards stood around the outer office to secure it even though they didn't need too. They were more or less there for show, or decoration even.

"Your Majesty," Prince Xizor said as the reptile entered the office with the slimy smile on his face as Anakin didn't look impressed or happy.

"Xizor, let's get right to it shall we?" Anakin insisted as he sat back in his chair with his focus on the slime that he would love to kill but didn't want a war with the Black Suns, of course after the Rebel scum are eliminated then it'd be possible but even then he knew he had to deal with him and his kind, for now anyway.

"Of course," the Prince said. "I received word from my people that your informant is passing you bad information, or rather misinformation. The Alliance knows of him and the raid you're planning on them won't work. They're smarter than you know."

"Excuse me?" Anakin asked as he couldn't help but be surprised. "My informant? The Alliance knows? How could they possibly know about something that isn't even set in durasteel yet?"

"I know that your former apprentice, or still current apprentice Galen Marek is your informant and the one that formally established the Rebel Alliance." He said matter-of-factly. "I also know that you are planning a raid that is supposed to happen in one month or just after one month from now and it won't work. You have two problems, the misinformation and a leak at the top."

"How could you possibly know any of this?" Anakin demanded as he stood and lifted his desk with his hands and flipped it as it flew in the air and against the far wall going just over the Prince's head. "My own people don't know about Galen! I made damn sure about that! I made him appear to be a terrorist, I made him appear to have tried to kill me! The only ones on the inside who know are my children and they wouldn't say anything! They grew up with him for the last fifteen years!"

"They're not the leaks, it is one of your top officials though." The Prince said, it was a relief to Anakin he didn't think his own kids would do such a thing, it is a good thing they didn't. "Your boy, Luke is on Alderaan and the uprising is false. That was the plan, to get Knights out there to attack or kill. They know that as long as you and the Knights are alive that they will never succeed and since the Knights serve you and the Empire, they are a threat and the Jedi Order or what is left of it have marked them all as targets. The war and the time since then changed them and them working with these terrorists, they have evolved. They are more of a threat now, than ever before."

"Are you telling me this to earn a favor in the future or are you trying to earn a favor and lend support to help me end this threat and bring peace to the galaxy. We all know that peace benefits all, another war would only set back the Empire and the Black Suns." Anakin said knowing that Xizor never comes to him without a plan and always has an ulterior motive or sometimes likes to prove that his people are better than the Imperial's.

"Both, earn a favor and to lend support." He said with his slimy smile as he took a hololetter and handed it to Anakin.

Anakin took it and played the message as he immediately recognized the person and threw the hololetter against the wall, "he was the one who brought up the whole uprising threat." _Armand Isard, what have you done?_ "I need to contact the Knights and send reinforcements along with the Fleet."

"I can lend support, we have people on Alderaan." The Prince offered and Anakin was tempted to tell him where to shove it but he knew he may not have time to wait, he nodded.

"Do it, and I will contact my people regardless. I need to get word to my son." Anakin said as he searched for his holocomm to warn Luke but he couldn't find it and when he did after he remembered he threw the desk, it was smashed. "Dammit!" He shouted as he went outside his office and ran to the Situation Room, he could control the galaxy from there and there is where he contacted the Knights to mobilize and gave the order for the Fleet to move in but they won't be there for over an hour, the nearest Knights couldn't arrive until a half hour then he tried to contact Luke or Mara and even Galen to warn him to get out.

* * *

 **Alderaan**

Luke and Mara left the Palace and roamed around Alderaan as they visited various shops and historical locations around the city but they couldn't find anything of interest. Luke and Mara decided to leave the city and visit the mountains, it wasn't every day that they got to do that and Aldera was making Luke sick just being around the vermin that tried to take him from his family for their own evil purposes, _who were they to do such a thing?_ He didn't know but he was happy that his father found him and his twin before they could go through and force him to live on Tatooine with people that Anakin hate and are partially responsible for the death of his grandmother.

Luke was roaming when his holocomm sounded and he reached into his secure pocket and took it out and answered it to see his father.

"Luke! You need to get out of Alder-"

 _ **DANGER!**_

Luke dropped the holocomm as he felt a ripple in the Force and it screamed at him as he held his hand out and called his lightsaber to him as it sprang from his belt and into his hand, Mara did the same as they were under attack. Blaster fire flew at them from all directions and explosions were heard, the holocomm was still on and Anakin couldn't do anything but watch and then it lost connection.

* * *

 **This is it for Chapter 2! I am sure you want to know what happened in the eighteen years between Mustafar and the present and that will be answered with the therapy sessions. He will relive his past from his childhood to the time he was a Jedi to the time he was a Sith Lord and then when he was Emperor and a new father. You will see the twins grow up and the twins will speak of it as well, this story is mostly about the three of them and they will be the focus of it. Starkiller as well, but he didn't become apart of the family until he and the twins were three years old, but he is a main character along with the rest of the Skywalker's.**

 **The next chapter will be surrounding Alderaan and the war with the Rebels will be officially beginning as they and the Jedi have decided that the time for waiting was over. However we don't follow their side, we're only on the side of the Imperial's therefore we get to see things through them, through the Skywalker's, mostly.**


	3. Crisis on Alderaan

**Michael: Thanks for the review! I am glad you like the story thus far! It is definitely different than Skywalkers: Rule the Galaxy!**

 **WeylandCorp4: Thanks for the review as well! I had to have that cliffhanger there! I couldn't do the whole battle and occupation in one chapter, it had to be done, sorry. I will be including more of the Knights and their philosophy throughout the story and you will get to know them like how we got to know about the dysfunctional Jedi Order and the Knights aren't like that. Vader/Anakin never liked Han, of course he didn't know Leia was his daughter (in canon) but he never liked the man and he won't here, he doesn't like much people... The plan was going to go according to plan but you were right, it would be too easy and it would create a void in the story, there wouldn't be much to do but this way there will be. I hadn't noticed that I was using that much EU stuff... Prince Xizor, sure I see that and Starkiller, the Imperial Knights (in name and uniforms only since the philosophy and such is different), Mara Jade, so yes maybe I am but honestly I haven't delved much into the EU. I have some EU/Legends books but I haven't read them all, I do have quite a few though on the kindle and nook book though. And I could bring Kylo Ren into it when and if Solo and Leia get together but that wouldn't be until down the road. I am not a big fan of major time jumps, but we may get there but his name won't be Kylo Ren since he won't be a Knight of Ren unless Supreme Leader Snoke is around and takes him from Anakin which would happen over his dead body... his name also won't be Ben, not sure what it'd be yet but Ben was for Ben Kenobi and no one likes him in my story, since I don't like him at all, he is the enemy.**

 **Emperor Vader Rules the Galaxy: Chapter 3**

* * *

 **Alderaan**

Luke and Mara drew their lightsabers and ignited them the instant the sabers met their hands. The sabers ignited the crimson red, the color of the Knights and the blaster shots were deflected and flung away, some hitting the attackers and some just hitting the rocky mountains as they cracked and broke the rock as they collided. There was snow on the higher altitude points but nothing on the surface as it was a toasty summer day, well evening yet not as hot as Tatooine but then again not many worlds get that hot.

Luke and Mara were side by side as the blaster fire was being fired from all three hundred and sixty degrees around them but they made the deflecting the blaster shots look easy, they had enough experience over the years with Vader not taking it easy on either of them especially not Luke and PROXY the droid, it didn't take it easy on any of them either.

"Stop firing!" Luke ordered as he continued to swing his blade and deflected more shots as he watched them connect with their attackers and he knew they had to be Rebels, _who else would foolish enough to fire on Knights?_ He asked himself. "Stop firing or you will be the reason that Alderaan is destroyed!" Luke demanded yet again, but they didn't seem to care and he knew that his father would send everyone available to back them up but that would take time and being a sitting womp rat wasn't going to help either of them.

"We have to get out of here and wait for backup!" Mara insisted urgently but not loud enough for anyone but Luke to hear as she turned and deflected more shots back and knew they were in trouble, the shots sprang out from everywhere and there were many places in the mountains the attackers were able to hide and it wasn't easy to locate them all but they did through the Force.

"Yeah, we can't go back to the city, though." Luke said as he couldn't risk getting mobbed and killed or being ambushed again, he didn't care about collateral damage at this point but he knew that they would be tracked down through their locating beacons but he had to wait, he was hoping to see Starkiller and figured his cover was blown anyways, why not mention it eventually. "We have to go that way and keep them on one side of us, it'd make it easier to deflect the shots and to kill these bastards."

Mara acknowledged the order and they started to move further into the mountains as they slowly stepped sideways back to back and they kept deflecting the shots as they were being fired on repeatedly and not taking any breaks. It was a miracle that neither of them have been shot yet but the uniforms are supposed to absorb the energy from the blaster shots but they didn't want to test that, not now.

The shots continued when a few explosions occurred a short distance away, none that were close enough to do any damage but they were obviously meant to be used as a distraction. A distraction to catch them off guard that would allow the blaster shots to get past their sabers and penetrate their armor, of course the Rebels wouldn't have known that the armor would absorb the blaster shots but with the number of shots being fired there was a chance one would get through. However, if a shot hit them in the head, then they'd die as they aren't wearing any helmets, they have them for certain missions and keep them stored in their shuttles but they didn't think they'd need them now. They needed to stay focused and they knew each other enough to know what the other was thinking and through their connection, they could speak without speaking and plan accordingly.

* * *

 **Imperial Knights Temple**

The red lights flashed as the klaxons sounded and everyone knew that something was wrong since this rarely happens, it has only happened twice before and that was when their comrades were in trouble and that there was going to be a major mobilization. The Knights are dedicated to each other and they are to put each others lives before all others, they're supposed to allow people to die before their comrade, Knights were worth more than the average person and with their training and abilities, they weren't Jedi, they were family and they treated and respected each other as such.

No one knew what was going on until an announcement came over the public announcement system, _"there has been an attack on Alderaan. Master Knight Luke Skywalker and Knight Mara Jade have been ambushed and have been unreachable for the last five minutes. They are being assaulted by Rebels, explosions were heard. The following Knights and Master Knights are to report to the hangar bay for immediate take off."_ The message repeated again when they were placed on high alert and twenty Knights and Master Knights were summoned to the hangar bay where they were briefed and assigned to their ships as they took off immediately and set their course for Alderaan. Everyone else was to remain at the Temple unless given further orders, twenty Knights and Master Knights would be more than enough especially with an Imperial Fleet on the way and thousands of Stormtroopers would occupy the planet by force and there was nothing anyone could do to prevent that.

An Imperial occupation force would need to invade Alderaan now as a message to those who would dare to oppose the Empire and attack Knights. Not only is this an attack against the Imperial Knights but it is also an attack against the Empire since Master Knight Luke Skywalker is the Imperial Prince of the Galactic Empire which means an attack against him is an attack against the Empire. However, Anakin would never admit to that, he would say that an attack against the Imperial Knights is an attack against the Empire, he can't show weakness and using Luke's name could make him a larger target. It was better that he made people believe that Luke was just another Knight without special treatment or loved more than anyone else and since the Jedi believe Anakin to still be a Sith and since Sith don't love or can't love, in their eyes, it could paint a larger target on Luke, Leia and Starkiller's back. Anakin wouldn't allow his enemies to see his weakness is in his children which includes Starkiller who he raised since he took him in at the age of three and raised as his own just like Luke and Leia. He loved them all equally and treated Starkiller the same way he treated Luke and Leia, if you didn't know you would think Starkiller was the biological son of Anakin because of the way he was and is treated, except presently since he is undercover... or was.

Leia was one of the Master's that were sent to Alderaan with Vader knowing she was going to go regardless of what he wanted and he knew he couldn't go and he'd rather have his best three Imperial Knight's (Luke, Leia and Starkiller) handling the situation rather than taming them and being overprotective. He trained them the best he could and they'd have to choose their own paths but Starkiller didn't have that choice, he was the Apprentice to the Emperor and Grand Master Knight of the Imperial Knights and that _was_ his choice to be the Apprentice. He knew that by deciding to be the Emperor's and Grand Master Knight's Apprentice that he would be trained by the best and held to a higher standard and since he was raised by the man, he knew what to expect. He could be cruel at times and even seriously injure Starkiller but pain, anger and hatred only make you stronger and Vader knew that Starkiller could handle it and become the most powerful weapon the Empire has, a weapon that is more powerful than a Fleet of Star Destroyers and would make the Imperial Knights look weak in comparison, even though that couldn't be further from the truth.

The Knights aren't like the Jedi, they aren't weak or narrow minded and they know how to adapt and evolve. They aren't peace keepers, they're problem solvers and they will solve any problem using their training or the Force. They'll try the diplomatic route first, before stepping it up to aggressive negotiations. If that fails then they could step it up even more, depending on the mission and their objectives.

The Knights are warriors, unlike the Jedi. They're made to be warriors, just one full ranked Knight is worth a whole Batallion of Stormtroopers. One Master Knight is worth a whole Legion or Fleet, however there are usually always two Knights that handle every conventional and unconventional mission. A Knight and Apprentice, Master and Apprentice, Master and Knight, depending on their specialties decides how they're paired up and decides their missions, some are worth more than others, as sad as it is to say.

Knights fear nothing, they embrace both sides of the Force and that is something that most people couldn't handle which is why people only chose one side, most were too weak to control the Dark Side and it controlled them, corrupted them like it did Sidious, like it did Plagueis and like it did to every Sith before them save for a very few. Then you had those on the Light Side who were also weak and narrow minded in their limited powers and dogmatic beliefs that they were exactly like the extinct Jedi Order. Self-proclaimed peace keepers and enforcers of how the Force is used, decided their fate and that was something the Knights didn't do.

There are only just over a thousand Knight's since not everyone was able to become a full Knight or Apprentice, in order to become an Apprentice, you have to handle the Dark Side and the Light Side. You have to be fully immersed in the Dark Side and let it control you, then learn to control it and learn the Light Side. Thousands have died trying to become an Imperial Knight, more fell to the Dark Side and couldn't control it and had to be executed, more were executed by their brother and sister Imperial Knights than by anyone else.

* * *

 **Imperial Palace**

Vader was still tempted to go as he hated being needed but not being able to help his son. He would gladly die for his children knowing that they would live on and have each other but being on the otherside of the situation wasn't fun. He could sense that Luke was alright and unharmed, he was also very angry and drew on the Dark Side as did Mara, they were obviously under attack and needed backup. Prince Xizor had people stationed there and would assist and the closest Knights were about twenty minutes away now but Vader didn't fully trust them, they were Knight and Apprentice but Vader didn't know them personally. He also didn't trust Xizor.

 _How did I allow something like this to happen_ , Vader asked himself. _How did I not sense that something was wrong? Was Isard working for the Rebels or was he just selling information, or both?_

Vader didn't know, but he did know that his Director of Imperial Intelligence was going to die a very slow and very agonizing death and he would find out just how much anger and hatred that Vader has been hiding for all of this time. The only reason he even found the light was because of Luke, Leia and then Starkiller or Galen Marek as is his birth name and that would show that he gave up his Knight ties for his undercover mission...

 _Starkiller!_

Vader activated the holotransceiver and typed in Starkiller's comm frequency and waited for him to answer and he did almost immediately.

"Master?" He asked as he knew something was wrong and didn't kneel as he was surprised and in a Rebel Base as he didn't have time to go outside.

"I need you to get out of there now! Luke and Mara are in danger and are near you, they're under attack!" Vader threw at him without holding back the urgency in his voice. "Your cover is blown! You're in danger, kill them all and go find Luke!"

"Right away, I will contact you when we're clear." Starkiller said gladly as he was waiting for this moment for a long time.

Vader smiled as he knew Starkiller was more than capable of defending himself and he even had more power than Luke and Leia, especially in the Dark Side. The thing about the Knights is that there are people who are very good with both sides as they channeled the Force to fit their needs, if they needed the Light, they'd channel their light emotions, if they needed the Dark, they'd channel their dark emotions.

Luke was good at both but he wasn't as powerful in the Dark Side as Vader or Starkiller but he was better than any other Knight in the Dark Side, he was the number three most powerful in the Dark Side. Leia was more Light Side although she did have her moments and you do not want to make her angry, _maybe Han will make her angry, kill two birds with one Force choke?_ That was an idea that made Vader smile as he continued contemplating.

Leia was the strongest besides Vader in the Light Side, he never really used it but when he needed too, he could use it most effectively, much like Grand Master Yoda of the extinct Jedi Order. Then there was Starkiller who rarely used the Light Side but he controlled both sides enough so that the Dark Side didn't control him rather he controlled it and very effectively, it truly was a tool for him. The thing is, you don't want to face him in battle, nobody but Vader could defeat him... not even Luke or Leia. You could feel his rage through the galaxy when he fully immerses himself and he is powerful enough to do anything and everything, his power couldn't fully be measured since he was still only eighteen and growing more powerful everyday but for his age, he was truly one to watch closely and Vader did.

Vader is still Starkiller's Master as he believes that they have a lot to learn from each other and Starkiller reminds him a lot of himself, maybe not so much in background but personality wise and Force strength. Starkiller had half the midichlorians that Vader had but he knew that didn't mean anything, Yoda and Sidious both had far less midichlorians than Vader and they were both incredibly powerful but Starkiller blew them both out of the water in raw Force power. Vader had to wonder how powerful he could've become had the Jedi not restrained him because of their fear of him but Vader didn't hold back anymore, he constantly pushed himself even at the age of forty, there was still a lot to learn and he was eager too.

Another thing about Starkiller was that he was trained in all seven forms of lightsaber dueling and knew exactly how to defend against each of them and knew how to successfully attack each of them, he was a true powerhouse. He never lost a duel when facing anyone other than Vader but even Vader had a hard time against him compared to anyone else, in recent times. Starkiller was completely unpredictable and that is what he achieved in doing, he kept his opponent guessing and when you thought you knew what he was going to do, it turned out you were wrong and completely unprepared and defeated, he allowed you to predict his moves just to change them and lead you into a lethal trap.

Vader made him a Knight at the age of twelve, all three of his kids were Knights at the age of twelve but Starkiller was the most skilled in lightsaber duels and raw Force power. Vader knew that although Luke could control the Force, if Luke and Starkiller were dueling or fighting for real, Starkiller would win. That is what made him confident he was perfect for the undercover assignment and would be perfect for backing up Luke and Mara, they all needed each other, now more than ever before and he knew they would pull through and eliminate the Rebel scum who think that they could actually kill a Knight, especially a Master Knight and a Knight. They weren't children, they knew how to fight and they were two of the most experienced in the whole Order, that was one of their specialties.

* * *

 **Alderaan**

Starkiller smiled as the transmission ended and he placed the holocomm in his pocket as he held his hand out and called his lightsaber to it. It rushed to him and ignited as Starkiller was back and he fully immersed himself in the Dark Side and he knew that everyone in the galaxy would feel it, everyone that was Force sensitive, that is.

His eyes glowed yellow with a red tint to them, something he hasn't done in quite some time since he was cooped up in the base for so long, now he knew why. He reached out to Luke through the Force and detected his presence nearby, he spoke with him through their Force bond.

 _"Luke, it's Starkiller. What's your status?"_ He asked through the Force before he started to kill everyone in sight.

 _"We're under attack but standing our ground, we're moving further into the mountain. We're surrounded by Rebels."_ Luke replied with ease with their Force connection still strong even after the two year assignment.

 _"Understood, my Master informed me that my cover was blown. I'm back and I'll be meeting up with you soon, try not to have too much fun without me."_ Starkiller replied with a smile as he opened the door leaving the Rebel quarters and roamed down the hollowed out base's corridor to the main operations room where there were three people standing around looking at holoimages of a planet that Starkiller didn't care to recognize.

 _This is where the fun begins..._ Starkiller thought to himself as he smiled, an evil smile.

The three looked to Starkiller and he felt their fear as the crimson saber came to life and they saw his smile as he approached the closest Rebel and with a single swing, he lost his head with an easy rapid swing that decapitated him like it was paper instead of flesh and bone. The other two screamed in horror as they tried to escape but there was only one way in and one way out and Starkiller was blocking the door as he deactivated his saber and Force lightning struck both of them using both of his hands as he missed doing this. He liked the blood and gore better but this will suffice since time is of the essence and he can't let anyone here survive, they all had to die in as much as agony as the time would allot and feeling their pain and fear, that was only icing on the cake.

There weren't many people present in the base and he didn't know why, but now it made sense. They were out there fighting against the Knights while a few remained here to most likely keep tabs on Starkiller but that didn't matter, he was freed from his mission and received new orders. He cleared the base room by room and there were only a little over forty rooms but he didn't search them all physically, he just reached out with the Force and whenever he detected a presence he searched the room and killed the inhabitants, ruthlessly and without mercy like a true Dark Knight.

The base only had over a dozen people in it and the rest must've been outside or on a mission elsewhere, he had realized that his cover must've been blown or they never really trusted him but the Alliance did exist, they just kept him out of the loop. It was infuriating! How could they do such a thing after they worked so hard to solidify his cover, they worked so hard to make everything believable and real! He helped create the Alliance, unifying them! There was either a traitor in their midst or someone caught him talking to his Master but he constantly checked his surroundings and he was in a hidden crevasse, no one could possibly see him! Or hear him for that matter! He made _damn_ sure of that!

He had a mission and that had to take priority, he had to protect his brother and his brother's lover! He was allowed to be himself again and he left the Rebel base behind as he reached out to locate his brother and found that he was less than a kilometer away and was approaching him slowly, he sensed Mara too but his Force bond was stronger with Luke, Leia and Vader more than anyone else. He could sense Mara's presence but he couldn't connect with her as easily as the others, but he could sense the Dark Side in both of them, it was stronger in Luke than Mara and it seemed that Luke has grown in his anger and hate in the Dark Side compared to two years ago.

* * *

Luke and Mara continued to move as they were putting distance between them and the Rebels as they were forcing them out of hiding as their vantage points were becoming ineffective. Luke and Mara have been in this situation before when they were hunting down Jedi and villagers or idiots liked to help the Jedi for one reason or another but a battle today wasn't expected but they were trained and always ready for the unexpected, the unexpected tend to happen quite often.

Luke and Mara thought on about how to gain the high ground, how to turn the tables but they couldn't find their opportunity to do so. They knew a lot about the Force but even with their abilities and powers, they had to defend themselves. They couldn't use Force lightning or Force push, if they did then a shot could get past their defenses and they could both lose their defensive and then their lives.

"We're going to have an old friend coming to our aid momentarily, he is on our side and always has been." Luke muttered as he continued to deflect the blaster shots as he felt Mara looking at him but he needed to keep his focus and he knew Mara would be upset, she and Starkiller were friends, good friends and she was hurt by what happened. She felt betrayed but she'll have to get used to it, if you don't have a need to know, you won't know, regardless of rank.

"And who would that be?" She asked as she felt his presence approaching from a short distance but hadn't felt it in some time. She knew it was Starkiller and she had a feeling all along that it wasn't real, how could he go from being Darth Vader's Apprentice to renegade traitor? She wouldn't let Luke off easily on this nor would she let Starkiller off the hook.

The intensity of Starkiller's Force presence was strong, too strong as the duo felt the coldness enter them, it slid down their spine and that was something only two people could do, Starkiller and Vader. He was angry, very angry and he was fully immersed in the Dark Side, but he had a reason to be. He was cooped up with his enemies for two years being forced to work with them and be their friends, he even had to go against his fellow Knights and Imperial Troops to maintain his cover and he had to pretend to be weaker than he was in order to ensure that he didn't kill them. He was probably expected too but fortunately for the Knights and Troops, the Rebels don't believe in killing unarmed people, some of them do but the leadership doesn't. They're too weak to make a decision like that, something that the Jedi probably reinforced with them. _It isn't the Jedi way._

"You know who, you could feel his presence and he told me he was on his way, the Emperor sent him since his cover was blown." Luke felt her emotions and dismissed them, she was very good at faking her emotions and her hurt emotions are just to get Luke to feel bad, but he was in Dark Side mode and it only made him stronger unlike the pathetic Light Side which only made him weaker, he liked to use his Dark Side more, he felt more like Starkiller than Leia.

"So that episode a couple of years ago, all a set up?" She asked stating the obvious as her attention was back on the twenty or so, pathetic Rebels firing at them to no avail with various weapons. "Did you know all along?"

"It was and no I didn't." He replied looking at her then back at the men and women firing at them, their aim wasn't all that bad, but it wasn't good enough to hit or kill a Knight, especially not a Master Knight or a Knight as well trained and experienced as Mara Jade. "Leia and I were only told a couple of months later. The Emperor told us that only he and Starkiller knew of it and he needed it to be believable, people knew how close we were and they needed to see our reactions to it to make it look believable. We were relived and disappointed but he is the boss and he is the law. What he says goes regardless of how we feel about it and we know better than to question his decisions, he earned the right and our respect to follow his orders and to believe in him. He never let us down before and I don't think he ever will."

"I knew all along, of course I didn't know for sure but I didn't buy it." Mara stated as a matter-of-fact. "I knew how close they were and how close you and Leia were to him, there was no way he would ever betray the three of you like that and there was no way he would ever think he'd actually be able to kill the Emperor! There were Jedi Master's who couldn't defeat him and a sixteen year old kid, even as powerful as Starkiller is, there was no way he would ever be able to kill the Emperor. He was too loyal for that."

"True but everyone _knew_ how close he and the Emperor _were_." Luke said with a bit of jealousy in there, he knew why they were so close and why he chose to keep Starkiller as his Apprentice but he was jealous that his father spent more time with Starkiller than he did with him even though he chose to become a Master Knight in the Knight's and he knew what it entailed. "They also knew how powerful both of them were, Starkiller would become an invaluable asset for the Jedi and the Rebel's. It was a given that the Rebel's would be suspicious but he would be invaluable to their terrorist organization, he knew just as much about the Knight's and the Empire as anyone. He could've hurt us and would know how too but of course he wouldn't give up any of the sensitive information since we all took the blood oath and the secrecy oath and violating either of those would result in..." Luke didn't need to finish that sentence since Mara knew well and only one person ever broke that clause and paid for it brutally. Being tortured by Darth Vader wasn't pleasant especially not when he knew all that he knew and could prevent you from dying until he allowed you to die, and that was after dismembering you piece by piece...

"Close, we are." A familiar low male voice said as he corrected Luke and stood next to him as he helped them deflect blaster shots and the Rebels knew they were in trouble and that was when more shots rang out from behind the Rebels and they were surrounded, flanked from two sides.

Mara and Luke acknowledged the familiar voice and stronger presence but refused to break their minor concentration as they had dozens of blaster shots to deflect but with Starkiller with them, the blaster shots began to dwindle as he took no prisoners and easily deflected the shots right back at their source not caring about who the Rebel was, they were the enemy and trying to kill his family, that is all he needed to know.

Next thing everyone saw was two gunships hovering above them with the rappel ropes hitting the ground and people fast-roping down. The Knights knew they weren't Stormtroopers since they weren't wearing the Stormtrooper uniforms but they did know that they weren't Imperial's, they knew the different uniforms and the gunship was unmarked, the ISB and Imperial Intelligence do have unmarked ships, but this wasn't them.

The troops though didn't fire at the Knights and they just stood there as the blaster shots came to a halt and the troops surrounded the Rebels who lowered their weapons and surrendered.

"Master Knight Skywalker, we're here to back you up." One of the men said and Luke looked him over as he had tattoo's all over both of his arms and looked like a bounty hunter or something, he didn't know but he never saw anyone but a Mandalorian who was covered with so much ink especially with the designs of the ink. "We were sent by Prince Xizor, under the orders of your father. We'll take care of them until the Imperial's arrive. We were told the closest Knight's should be arriving any minute... Starkiller." He acknowledged the Knight, leaving out the rank since he didn't know it but everyone does know Starkiller, it isn't an easy name to forget and he is just as popular as the Imperial Prince or Imperial Princess and Starkiller is also an Imperial Prince since he is the legal son of Darth Vader.

"Thanks for the support." Luke said sincerely as he always liked the help but like his father, he didn't like the Black Suns or criminal organizations. They may abide by Imperial Law for the most part but they are criminals and thugs and can't be trusted. "You must be a Mandalorian."

The man smiled and nodded, "that I am." He admitted as he looked down wondering how he knew, there were millions of planets in the galaxy and out of those planets that were inhabited many of them were inhabited by humans. "What gave it away?" He asked curiously.

"I only saw one person before marked like you are. It wasn't just the tattoo's, a lot of people have them but it was the designs of the tattoo's, I know them from the old Mandalore, before the whole new Mandalorian Government started promoting pacifism." Luke explained and the man laughed and shook his head, he obviously thought the whole thing was insane too. Mandalorians were warriors and a true force to be reckoned with and now they were pacifists... it didn't make much sense.

"That is why I am a mercenary, I am an old Mandalorian, not in age but in beliefs." The man said and Luke didn't need to know he was talking in beliefs, the man couldn't be older than thirty.

"We understand, that is why we're Knights and not the pathetic Jedi with their archaic beliefs." Luke said as he compared the Jedi to the new Mandalorian Government except the new Mandalorian Government changed and adapted whereas the Jedi didn't and died. "The Knights are all about adapting and evolving, for the better and not the worse." _Like the new Mandalorian Government... even though it isn't really new new, but new as in relatively new within the past couple of decades... new._

"I agree, I have to admit that I like you guys better than the Jedi, the self proclaimed peace keepers of the galaxy, yet they never kept the peace." The man said with a clear disdain in his voice about them, he obviously had a run in with them before. "Anyway, we'll be around in case there are anymore Rebel's hanging around."

"Thanks again, we'll be remaining here as well." Luke said with a nod in acknowledgement as he turned to Mara and Starkiller who were chatting amongst themselves.

"I couldn't tell anyone! My only contact was the Emperor!" Starkiller said and Luke smiled knowing Mara was giving him an ear full about his undercover mission. "I couldn't be undercover if everyone knew I was _undercover_." _Women..._ he thought as Luke came to hopefully save him.

"Mara, this goes way above your clearance level." Luke said trying to get her to move on, she would have to accept that there are secrets with the Knights that are safeguarded and only available for those with clearance or the need to know, Master Knight's don't even have access to everything. For example, Ahsoka has access to everything involving Intelligence for the Knights, she also has access to the various Intelligence Agencies within the Empire, however other Master Knights and Knights couldn't gain access to those networks unless they had a need to know or had their request approved to have access to certain classified information. Luke, Leia and Starkiller however have special clearance and access to everything in the whole Imperial database because of their positions in the Empire, not the Imperial Knights, certain things however are kept out of the databases and computer terminals because they could be spliced and sensitive information could fall into the hands of the enemy. "It also went above mine, it was for the Emperor's Eyes Only. Leia and I were only informed because of our relationship with Starkiller and because of our positions within the Empire. Enough time passed anyway to the point of where it was a non-story since Starkiller fell off the grid."

"I get it, I just don't like being deceived." Mara admitted, even though she knew all along and even when she talked to Luke about it she sensed his thoughts and emotions and detected her beliefs were confirmed.

"Well, get used to it." Luke replied with a light smile. "The Emperor likes to compartmentalize information, we had enough leaks in the past and this way he could figure out where the leaks came from and plug them before something catastrophic happens."

"So long as we have a war against Jedi or _Sith_ , or these... Rebels... it'll have to remain that way." Starkiller acknowledged even though he knew more than Luke and Mara combined about the Force and certain secret information since he wasn't an official Knight, well he is but he falls outside the proper chain of command, he answers only to the Emperor. He however can't speak of any of that to anyone except for the Emperor. "You can't have everyone on the top know everything, instead you keep things compartmentalized and spread out and if something happens, then you know that not all of the information could fall into enemy hands and by the time that information falls, the information would already be useless since the information would be modified and codes changed and so on and so forth."

"It makes sense, I just didn't like the idea of you being treated like a traitor or worse, actually being a traitor." Mara admitted, she did have feelings for him but not romantic feelings but more of the feelings a sister has for a brother, even though they aren't related, biologically. "No one was more dedicated to the Emperor than you, you and Leia." She said looking from Starkiller then to Luke and then back to Starkiller, "I knew it had to be a set up, I guess I just didn't like being left in the dark."

"It's okay, Mara." Starkiller said as he placed his right prosthetic hand on her right armored shoulder, "I am back and I am not going anywhere. I was honored that the Emperor asked me to conduct this mission but I hated every second of it and he knew it. On the bright side, I did get to kill the rest of the Rebels that were inside the base before coming here but you didn't save me any fun, like I asked you too."

Luke and Mara smiled, no one was more lust for blood than he was, that was Starkiller, a very fitting name and he hasn't changed a bit.

"Do you know how your cover got blown?" Luke finally asked knowing Starkiller doesn't make mistakes, he used too when they were children but they all learned and grew up.

Starkiller didn't know and shook his head, "I was thinking and I have no idea. I just know my Master commed me and told me that you and Mara were in danger and that my cover was blown. He told me to kill the Rebels and back you up. I don't know when or how they realized I was undercover, they may have suspected it all along. They were feeding me good information along with misinformation, I passed it all along to my Master who had it checked out but it seemed like it was all good, apparently they were testing me. I still know the Leaders since I was at the meetings but they obviously considered it a necessary risk, they probably have other people inside that I wasn't informed about. Senator Organa was there but being the smart man he is, he never exposed himself to being a supporter or leader for the cause, he did however know of this base and even visited. He knows of the other leaders as does his wife, I'm sure."

"Well, that is somewhere to start." Luke acknowledged, it was known for sometime that he was a leader and Luke and Mara knew it well, he was caught by Threepio, a long time ago talking about one day creating a rebellion to restore the Republic, as foolish as that was. "The Imperial Fleet will be here soon as will more Knights and then we'll take them into custody and question them."

"I would like to take the first crack at that." Starkiller said with his eyes fully Sith with an evil grin on his face. "I had to work with the terrorists afterall for the last two years!"

"We know you would and we have no problem with that but we can't kill either of them." Luke stated as a matter-of-fact. "I am sure the Emperor will want to have some fun with them too though before they're executed for their crimes against the Knights and the Empire."

"I'm sure he does, he tried to take Leia as his own daughter and send you to Tatooine, I am sure he would like to question him about that." Starkiller said as he pulled out his holocomm to contact the Emperor. "I am going to let my Master know we're okay, I told him I would when we were clear."

Luke and Mara nodded in acknowledgment as they saw the blue hologram of the Emperor appear and they all knelt as they were supposed too, everyone was supposed too in the presence of the Emperor.

"It's good to see that you're all alive and appear to be uninjured." The Emperor said relieved to see they were okay and breathing, even though he felt their presence and knew they were, seeing it and feeling it though were two different things.

"Yes, Master." Starkiller said as he bowed his head, "we had help from the Black Suns. The Rebels that weren't killed in the ambush have surrendered and the mercenaries have them secured."

"Well done, I want the three of you to remain where you are." The Emperor ordered as he looked to the holomap and saw his Fleet closing in on Alderaan and saw the Imperial Knight's ship entering Alderaan's atmosphere with the rest of them being twenty minutes away. "The Fleet should be there soon, the closest Knights are just entering Alderaan's atmosphere and the Knights mobilization will be there in twenty minutes. Wait for them then I want you to secure the planet, I'll send a Moff to take over soon but for now, you are the Moff of the planet."

"Master, you know that the Knight's fall outside the military chain of command, we have no power over them nor do we have political power." Luke stated as he found a flaw in his father's order, even though he knew he wasn't talking to him.

Starkiller turned to Luke, "you and the rest of the Knight's don't, I however do." Starkiller said as he looked between Mara and Luke who didn't catch what he was saying. "I fall outside the Knight's chain of command, I am a Knight in name but I have the same rank as a Moff and like you, I am an Imperial Prince."

"Really?" Luke asked, he didn't know that but he shouldn't be surprised. He did know that Starkiller as the Apprentice to his father was more powerful, not only in the Force but also in authority but he didn't know that he had authority over the military and the authority to rule a planet when under Imperial rule, he did however know that he was an Imperial Prince, of course.

"Really." Vader confirmed. "Starkiller is my Apprentice and as such, he works directly for me and as the Emperor I gave him the power to take control of a military operation and to suspend a planetary governments rights in times of crisis, this is a crisis and Starkiller is uniquely qualified to see it through to conclusion. He is now empowered as a Moff. As for you Luke, I want you to take command of the Knights enroute, have them secure the Rebel base and you can use them for your investigation into the ambush. Starkiller will secure the planet and oversee the military operation."

"Understood, Master." The boys said in unison as the holocomm transmission ended and they rose to their feet as they waited for the Knights and Fleet to arrive.

* * *

It wasn't long before the Knight's arrived and the Fleet secured the space surrounding the planet. The mercenaries were relieved of duty and thanked for their service with a hefty reward from the Empire and Luke, Starkiller and Mara were relocated to the Palace where they'd take control operations from.

"Governor Starkiller, we have secured Aldera." The Stormtrooper Commander announced as he entered the primary operations room, or what they made their primary operations room. "The Senator and Queen aren't here, they must've left before we arrived. We have installed martial law and we cleared every room in the city. I received word from the other Company's in the other cities and so far they haven't found the Senator or Queen either. We believe they fled the planet at the time of your ambush."

"Makes sense, they had to have known we'd apprehend them and they wouldn't want to risk that." Starkiller stated the obvious, they knew that he was undercover or at least suspected it. "Forget about them for now and just work on securing the planet. If anyone resists or refuses to cooperate, lock them up."

"Yes, Governor." The Stormtrooper Commander replied as he saluted and left the room.

"Cowards." Starkiller said as he turned to look at Luke, Leia and Mara. "They set you up and take off without a fight, it's okay we'll catch up with them eventually."

"He is a Senator and her a Queen, it isn't exactly easy for them to hide." Mara said as they looked at the holotable as Alderaan was hovering above the table showing the Fleet in orbit and the ships that landed in the various cities.

"Well they were, I stripped them of their authority and seized their assets and froze their bank accounts." Starkiller was used to this and this wasn't his first time tracking down a fugitive and he'd like to track them down, if given the opportunity, they don't call him the Jedi Hunter for nothing even though it has been years since he's done that.

"You thought of everything, huh?" Leia asked as she never saw this side of Starkiller, usually he was lust for blood and not talking about freezing assets and political maneuvering.

"My Master taught me well." Starkiller answered with a smile as his Sith eyes vanished and his brown eyes appeared, it was rare seeing them and everyone liked them, it was refreshing except when in battle.

"No surprise there, he is the Emperor." Luke said as he placed his hands on the holotable and leaned over. "I can't believe they did that to us! We didn't sense anything until the last second! They had to have had help from a Jedi or trained by one."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Luke." Starkiller said staring at his brother who was clearly mad at himself for almost getting killed but he didn't and you tend to learn from your mistakes, especially Luke. "You're alive and didn't even need my help or the help of the mercs. You both deflected hundreds of blaster shots and didn't get hit once, that isn't an easy feat to accomplish."

"Starkiller is right Luke, you sensed it in time and made it out uninjured and alive." Leia said reassuring her brother as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Things happen and now you'll be more cautious, expect the unexpected and you both did. You relied on your training and experience and it worked, you survived and now that we have them in custody, you can go and interrogate them. Go find out who ordered them to ambush you, go break them, tear their minds apart."

Luke turned to look at Starkiller and Leia and nodded with a smile, "you're both right. Mara, let's say we break them?"

Mara returned the smile and let the Dark Side rush into her, "let's say we." She said as her eyes turned Sithly yellow.

"In the meantime, I will oversee operations and control things from here." Starkiller informed them as he watched as Luke and Mara made their way to the exit.

"And I will find something to do." Leia said not sure as to what she should be doing, everything was safe and secure now and there was no need for all of the extra Knight's to be present.

"You can hang here or return to your duties at the Temple." Starkiller told her. "Everything should be secure here, we're safe now and we have more than enough troops to handle the people."

"Ah, trying to get rid of me, are we?" Leia asked with a smile as it was just the two of them now with Luke and Mara excusing themselves to interrogate the Rebel prisoners.

"Me? Never." Starkiller said with a dead serious expression that turned into a smile as they hugged for the first time in two years, "I missed you guys."

"We missed you too!" Leia admitted. "Sunday dinners haven't been the same without you. Even dad misses you though he tends to hide it well. He hated having to put you, of all Knights, undercover but he knew that it would be more believable with you and could give them more power and recognition than it being just a regular Knight."

"That's what he said." Starkiller acknowledged as he missed his sister, the woman he grew up with for the last fifteen years. "I've been waiting for the mission to be over and to kill them all, I got to kill a dozen or so but the majority of them were attacking Luke and Mara or were elsewhere."

"We'll find them all eventually and when we do, they'll pay for their crimes." Leia knew, _especially if Starkiller finds them_. "Ahsoka also wants you to contact her to brief her on what you know of the Rebels, as she is the head of Intelligence."

"Of course, I just hope my Master will assign me to track down these Rebels and Jedi like I did before." Starkiller had hate and anger written all over his face when he spoke those words, he truly despised the Rebels and Jedi alike, trying to undermine everything his family has built and worked hard to maintain. "The galaxy has never been in better shape since Emperor Vader took over and the scum really wants to take that down? For what, exactly?"

"They want democracy, but in reality they just want their power." Leia knew, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see their intentions. "They are afraid of our power and find it unnatural. They believe we're Sith and have no control over the Light Side, of course that is the Jedi's belief. The Rebel's are led by the former influential Senators and wealthy benefactors who made money from the Republic to support their corrupt regimes, the Emperor took that away and they want it back. You know that money and power makes people do crazy things and the galaxy revolves around that."

"Well, I am sure Luke and Mara will get some valuable intel from the Rebel's assuming they have any or I will just have to go back out and hunt the Jedi and Rebel's and obtain the information and take them down. I already know the leader's and benefactors of the Rebel Alliance, or at least those that showed themselves and when I find them, I will be sure to obtain valuable information from them even if I have to tear their minds apart to do it." Starkiller said sounding like himself, it only made Leia smile.

 _Two years and he is the same old, Starkiller._ She thought happily, she missed these talks even though they were a bit too dark for her tastes. "I am sure you'll have fun with that. I will head back to the Temple now, I will see you soon?"

"That you will, once a Moff is assigned here and I am free to go, I will return home." Starkiller said happily, _home_. He truly missed it and his family. He was sickened to have to work with terrorists but that is his duty and he performs his duty, always.

"Good." Leia pulled him in for another hug and squeezed tightly, he may be bigger than her and may not be hurting from her squeeze but she missed it, she missed her brother. "You better be home for Sunday night dinner tomorrow."

"I wouldn't miss it." Starkiller replied as she smiled and exited the room leaving him alone to his thoughts.

* * *

 **That is it for Chapter 3!**

 **You may have noticed how I mentioned, "like a true Dark Knight." When I was referring to Starkiller as he showed no mercy and ruthlessly killed. What I meant by Dark Knight was a Knight who used the Dark Side, he was more of a Dark Side user than a Light Side which is why he is Apprenticed to Vader, out of everyone in the Knights, Starkiller is strongest in the Dark Side and is used for the assassinations and missions that would seem to be suicide for normal Knights. Starkiller works alone but he is the most suited and strongest in the Force, he could handle it and he received more training and learned more than any other Knight. But if you were wondering, that is what I meant. If you see Light Knight, then I'd be referring most likely to Leia or someone like her who uses the Light Side more than anything and uses a Light Side approach to her missions instead of a Dark Side approach.**

 **Please review or PM me and tell me how you liked it! Or disliked it... either way, it won't hurt my feelings, I am a big boy...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Family Reunion

**WeylandCorp4: Don't worry, the only really powerful person will be Vader and there won't be any insanely powerful over the top EU/Legends stuff here. I do think that Vader could be very powerful, he is the Chosen One, he isn't in the suit and he has all of the knowledge of the Jedi and the Sith, in the form of holochrons and knowledge of both sides over the past thousands of years and this is eighteen years following Episode 3, he had plenty of time to learn a whole lot more and become way more powerful. I am a fan of Starkiller though, he is pretty badass and will be here, as well. When I mentioned that a Knight was worth a Batallion of Stormtroopers and a Master Knight is worth a whole Fleet or Legion, I didn't mean that they could successfully fight and win against that many people (all at once), I meant that is how valuable they are in the eyes of the Empire. Knights are worth a whole lot more than the Jedi, we saw plenty of weak Jedi and the weakest Knight Apprentice could defeat a Jedi Knight, they learn from the age of three and up and are trained in the full ways of the Force not just the dogmatic view of the extinct Jedi Order...**

 **Emperor Vader Rules the Galaxy: Chapter 4**

* * *

 **Alderaan**

"Governor Starkiller, Alderaan is now fully under Imperial control." The same Stormtrooper Commander as earlier informed him as he stepped into the primary operations room and all of the cities lit up green, green for secured on the holomap. "We checked and verified every Alderaanian, the Queen and Senator aren't here."

"Good to know, nice work." Starkiller said with a fake smile as the Commander nodded, saluted and exited the room as fast as he entered. Starkiller didn't like being called Governor, but it was his temporary title and he'll deal with it, for now.

The doors opened again and Starkiller was going to shout at whoever walked in but as he turned he noticed it was the Grand General and Grand Admiral. "Admiral Motti, General Tagge, nice of you to finally present yourselves." Starkiller said sarcastically as he hated how these guys appear, after all of the action is said and done and they show up like they own the place, well they don't.

"Governor Starkiller, it is nice to see you too." Admiral Motti sarcastically replied with a smile, he enjoyed messing with Starkiller, in truth he didn't like being bossed around by some kid, despite who he is.

"You do realize that as a Knight and as the Apprentice to the Emperor, that I can read you like a children's book right?" Starkiller asked rhetorically. "Appearing as you and cohort did, that is childish. I am in charge here, not you," he said looking at Motti then turning to Tagge, "or you."

"Why aren't we arrogant? Power hungry maybe? What is it time to kill your Master and take the Throne for yourself? That is the way it works, isn't it?" Admiral Motti asked with a sly grin as General Tagge took a step back and didn't want to get involved.

Starkiller immersed himself in the darkness and closed his eyes, as he opened them his eyes were red, not the normal yellow with the red tint.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Admiral Motti asked with that same grin on his face.

Admiral Motti's smile disappeared as he felt an invisible force wrap around his neck and squeeze as he was violently thrown back and raised against the wall above the doors. He gasped for air but there was none, his larynx was burning and then there was a cracking noise that could be heard for miles and he dropped ten feet to the ground, dead.

Starkiller looked around, it wasn't him who did it. He and General Tagge looked behind them and Lord Vader was there on the holotable appearing as a hologram. Starkiller and the General quickly knelt with their heads bowed.

"No one questions Starkiller or speaks down to him or to the Force." Lord Vader said clearly speaking to the General. "Is that understood, General Tagge?"

"Ye... yes... Lord Vader." He stuttered.

"Is there a reason you waited so long to report to Starkiller?" Lord Vader asked unpleasantly.

General Tagge was too nervous and scared to come up with an answer and Vader didn't have the patience to wait for one.

"Starkiller is my son and not only that but I appointed him to be in charge of this operation, you were informed of such. I don't care how you feel about taking orders from an eighteen year old, I don't care about your personal feelings on such matters, at all." Lord Vader coldly informed him, he was never known for holding back or lying, he is the Emperor after all. "Should this happen again, I won't be so forgiving, General. Now leave us."

The General finally lifted his head and stood and immediately exited the room, Starkiller remained kneeling with head still bowed.

"Rise, Starkiller." Vader ordered and he did as they laid their eyes on one another. "Moff Valco Pandion will be there soon, inform him of the progress and he'll take over. Once he arrives and is briefed, you are to report back here and report directly to me in my office."

"As you wish, Master." Starkiller said as he felt proud and happy, that was the first time that his Master actually called him his son to outsiders, he always said it when they were together but never in the presence of others since it was important that they see him for what he did and earned rather than it being because he is the adopted son of the Emperor. It wasn't his birthright, he wasn't guaranteed an inheritance, he had to earn respect and earn his power and titles. And he did, Luke and Leia had to do the same.

"Is Luke still there?" Vader asked knowing that he was but not knowing what exactly he was doing, he also knew that Leia was already back at the Temple since he felt her presence and spoke to her already.

"He is, he wanted to interrogate the captured Rebels." Starkiller informed him knowing that is what he wanted to know, Vader rarely asked a question that he didn't know the answer too.

"Very well, if any prisoners are still alive when it is time for you to leave they are to be brought back here, along with Luke and Mara. The Knights have no reason to be there any longer, it is a waste of resources and manpower, the military can handle it from here." Vader ordered, everything he said was an order regardless of how he asked it or what he said or how he said it. He didn't say something that was of no significance.

"Understood, I'll be sure to leave with them. I have no transportation so I will board their shuttle with them back to Imperial Center." Starkiller didn't really want to return with them, if it was one of them okay but not both, they are lovers, afterall and he didn't want to be a third wheel.

"Good, I will see you tonight then." Vader ended the transmission and Starkiller looked to the dead body and opened the door and looked to two Stormtroopers.

"Clean up this mess for me." It wasn't a question and they were used to it, Starkiller tended to leave behind bodies wherever he went.

* * *

"Tell me Rebel, who sent you here to kill us?" Luke asked as he looked from Rebel to Rebel as they sat on the cold floor of the brig side by side with their hands bound behind their backs.

He knew they weren't going to be so vocal, they never were with any helpful information but he also knew that someone here knows something. Whether it was who ordered they set up the ambush where they set it up, or where the Senator or Queen went, they knew something and Luke would find out, one way or another. He wasn't above torturing or killing these terrorists to get his answers, they did try to kill him, afterall...

"I am losing my patience and when I do that, people tend to die." Luke warned them as he had his hands clasped behind his back as he walked from end to end looking at each Rebel, he was deciding who to use for a demonstration and it always helped to use the weakest of the bunch, to break the spirit and hopes of the others. "Very well, then I will unleash the Dark Side of the Force."

Luke opened himself up to the Dark Side and let it consume him but he maintained control of the Dark Side, as he had since he learned to maintain it like a domesticated equine. You have to break it in, learn to tame it and once you do it becomes yours. The Dark Side wasn't much different, you had to use your dark emotions, anger, hatred and pain and let it break you and then learn to control it but you couldn't control it if you have nothing to lose or if you're to weak. The key is to latch onto something and while the Youngling's grow up, they form attachments with their brothers and sisters and they learn to work together as a team. The Knights learned that the hard way and it cost many lives.

"You made your choice, now you'll have to live with it." Luke said as he aimed his hand at a young woman, older than Luke and he unleashed the Force lightning on her and watched her scream in agony as the blue lightning surrounded her and penetrated her and she convulsed with white foam coming from her mouth and shook violently as everyone watched in anger and shock. Luke merely intensified the lightning until she no longer shook, instead she was fried, quite literally. There was smoke rising from her body and her clothes were burned, her skin aged drastically and she looked like a corpse who'd been dead for several months.

"You bastard!"

Someone unimportant shouted, well they were all unimportant but that voice became the next victim as Luke looked to him and observed him, he was maybe thirty, light skinned, black hair with brown eyes wearing common Alderaanian garb.

"I've been called worse." Luke replied as he aimed his hand at the man and he started to gasp for air but couldn't, an invisible force surrounded his neck and squeezed, squeezed hard. His hands were still bound behind his back in the binders and he shook trying to pry himself free, he was a bulky guy too but it didn't matter. He was about six feet off the ground and everyone looked up and once again were horrified. Luke loved it! Mara didn't say anything nor did she feel anything negative about it, why would she? They all tried to kill her and Luke! Many of them didn't survive and for those that did, well they won't survive very long, no Rebel ever does.

"How can you just stand there and allow this to happen?" A woman shouted to Mara, the woman was both angry and horrified, angry that she has to watch her comrades suffer and horrified that it may happen to her, which it will eventually.

"I am a Knight, it isn't up to me to question the actions of a Master Knight, especially not when I agree with his actions." Mara answered the woman who looked even more angry with her face reddening. "I am not allowing this to happen though, you are."

"I am powerless! How am I allowing it to happen?" The woman countered fruitlessly.

"Simple, Master Knight Luke Skywalker asked you a question." Mara answered the woman again, she didn't like these little Q&A sessions but she was used to them, she usually played good cop in these scenarios. "You could stop this by answering his question."

"We don't know who sent us." The same woman said with a deep sigh with her face turning pink, her anger dissipating. "We just know the shadow operative gives us intelligence and it is always reliable. He gives us locations for obtaining the resources we need and provides us the tools to obtain the resources. He tells us what to expect and how to succeed. He's been working with us for a few months and since then, we've been making progress. We hurt you where we could."

"Let me assure you, you didn't hurt us." Luke said as he turned his attention to her and released the hold on the guy, he fell to the floor and landed on his ass as he tried to get the oxygen to his lungs but his bruised trachea was making that difficult but he made it, for now. "We weren't even here for you, your rebellion isn't even a Knight's matter. It is a simple ISB operation since you are terrorists, nothing more and nothing less and if you think stealing some weapons and sabotaging weapon depots hurt us, you're wrong. We are a Galactic Empire, we rule over millions of planets, stealing some weapons is hardly a threat."

"I'm sure..." The same woman terrorist replied either not believing him or knew it wasn't a threat because they have trillions of troops in the Navy and Army compared to the Rebels ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand, either way it really is no comparison.

"For your cooperation, we will hand you over to ISB." Luke told the woman as he waved in a pair of Stormtroopers who were ISB Stormtroopers. "The rest of you however, we have no use for you, any longer."

"Take her to a holding cell until an ISB Officer could take custody of her." Mara told the Stormtroopers as they nodded and grabbed her arm, one on either side and they escorted her out of the room and to a private holding cell where she would be transferred to the custody of an ISB Investigations Officer.

Luke looked at the person in the middle, it was an older man about forty or so and Luke unleashed the lightning on him and then looked to the person next to him, it was another man about the same age and with his other hand he also unleashed the lightning on him. Luke excelled at Force lightning and could strike multiple people with little effort. The lightning on both men jumped to the next and to the next like a chain until the lightning struck them all simultaneously and they all screamed in horror and agony as their bodies shook like a fish out of water. Luke had the intensity up as high as it went and they were all crisped, just like the first woman with foam coming out of their mouths. Luke called off the attack when they all stopped shaking and breathing and he let go of the Dark Side as his blue eyes returned with a minor yellow tint to them.

"Let's get out of here." He said to Mara who was already ahead of him and they exited the brig together. The brig was large, and contained many cells, this one though was for holding prisoners before they were processed into the Alderaanian Correctional System, these prisoners however won't be making it that far, obviously. "Dispose of the trash." He ordered a Stormtrooper as he waved in others as they began to remove the fried corpses who don't even look human anymore, they rather look like Sidious after he lost his duel to Master Windu, the lightning fried his skin, lightning inflicted by his own hands since it was deflected back at him except these guys looked well done, instead of medium.

"That was pretty intense, they must've really pissed you off." Mara observed, she never saw Luke react that way, he did some pretty dark stuff before but never with that much intensity, his patience was obviously worn very thin today.

"It isn't every day that we get ambushed." Luke pointed out. "They tried to kill us, their terrorists and they aren't going to get any sympathy from me. I made them feel the evil they portray us to be. If they want to undermine everything my father built and use false propaganda to try and turn the galaxy against us, then I'll make their lives a living hell. If they want to portray us to be evil Sith, then I will show them how evil, I can be."

"Spoken like a true Dark Knight." Starkiller said as he enjoyed watching the scene without anyone noticing his presence.

"Starkiller..." Luke said as he turned to look at his brother, he didn't know he was there, he was good, better than he was two years ago. "I didn't detect your presence."

"I had practice." Starkiller admitted, two years with Rebels and not using the Dark Side except when he needed it, it gave him time to work on other things like shielding his presence. "Since when did I rub off on you? I thought only I liked to torture people like that? Killing the enemies friends was always a good motivator for the others to speak up, especially having to watch their friend or family member die and knowing there wasn't anything they could do about it."

"I learned from the best." Luke said with a smile, Starkiller wasn't exactly sure if he was talking about him or Vader but he thought it was about him.

"I can see that." Starkiller admitted as he walked closer and placed his right arm around Luke and left arm around Mara, "we're leaving. I just transferred my authority over to Moff Pandion and we have orders to return home and my Master wants any surviving prisoners to return with us."

"There aren't any survivors, there is one but she is in ISB custody, she cooperated." Luke stated as he realized what he did and didn't feel bad about it, he felt no remorse. _They tried to kill us! Once they make their move, they forfeit their lives._ That is what the Emperor said and it is true. They make the first move and you are expected to be able to fend it off and defend yourselves, then you are to neutralize the threat or nuisance. Neutralize meaning apprehend or kill, it didn't matter which, what did matter was surviving and teaching the aggressor their mistake(s).

* * *

 **Imperial Palace, Imperial Center**

The Emperor was apprised and kept updated of the crisis on Alderaan and knew his family was safe, he knew they would be but he had to send in reinforcements to quell the rebellion and to install an Imperial Moff to take command of the planet's government. The Empire respects the independence of planetary governments but they are expected to follow Imperial law, if they refuse they risk an Imperial occupation force who would relieve the government of duty and install their own leader whether the Emperor chose someone from that planet to lead (as a puppet) or installed a Moff to take over, was up to him.

Every official government regardless of level within the Empire is expected to follow the Imperial Charter especially the section on Planet's rights and responsibilities to the Empire. It goes from the Empire to the planetary government to the local governments, if any. Section 4 stated that clearly, they are also to turn over any Force sensitive beings for examination by the Imperial Knights with a midichlorian count of eight thousand and above and to report any suspected Jedi, failure to do either would result in termination of their independent government. What is also stated is that the planetary government is to control its people and if they can't, the Empire will. This is where Alderaan failed, obviously it was a set up all along but they breached Section 4 and allowed their people to attack Imperial Knight's, they lost their sovereignty and will now be controlled by an Imperial Moff with an Imperial Garrison stationed on planet to maintain order and control.

Vader was pleased with the results, Alderaan is relatively peaceful planet without a military and mostly without weapons. They are practically pacifists and it was easy to take over after the mercenaries helped the Knights secure the terrorists who were later terminated. Luke briefed Vader on what the terrorist said and stated that he handed her over to the ISB where she would be interrogated further and then killed when she was no longer any use to their investigation into the terrorists known as the Rebels unless she could be flipped but that was always doubtful.

Vader had an idea on who this shadow operative was since he found out that his Director of Intelligence set up his son and was fully aware of everything that happened with the Rebels. ISB is handling the investigation but Imperial Intelligence knows just as much as they do, if not more, that is their job. Intelligence is that purely intelligence, the ISB is a criminal investigations agency as well as an intelligence agency but they don't have as many eyes as Intelligence does and they don't have any people inside the Rebels, like Intelligence does, that being the Intelligence Director himself.

 _He is trying to undermine me and supplying weapons and information to the Rebels, does he really think that these people could overthrow me? Seriously?_ Vader was taken out of his thoughts when Starkiller entered his office and knelt down on one knee.

"Master." He said subserviently yet confidently.

"Starkiller." Vader said with a smile as he approached the young man, he was taller and stronger than the last time they were together and he even sensed he was stronger in the Force. "I see some time with the devil has served you well."

"It has, Master." Starkiller agreed, working with the enemy boiled his blood more than the first moment when Vader pushed him over the edge and he snapped, literally. "The devil's paid with their lives, only a dozen of them though."

"It's alright, take the weekend for yourself." Vader told him as he motioned for him to rise and he did. "Sunday night dinner tomorrow and then on Monday, if you want one, I'll assign you a mission to get you back out there and doing what you love."

"I would like that very much, Master." Starkiller smiled at the thought of going back out there and being himself, killing whoever gets in his way and enjoying the smell of death.

"Good, you are free to go do as you please. I know Ahsoka wants to meet with you to go over your debriefing and then you can do whatever pleases you without killing anyone that I like."

* * *

 **Imperial City, Imperial Center**

Leia did what she had to do and decided to leave work behind and go out with Han. She planned a date with him tonight and she decided to give him the ultimatum that her father told her to give him. So she would, she did lie to her father about his rank because the age difference is a decade but she felt she had too or her father would've flipped out and she would never be free again, she had to prove to him that yes he may be older but she loved him and well, her mother was five years older than her father and yes ten years older may be different but that doesn't make it wrong or illegal even.

She isn't used to wearing anything other than her red armored uniform but he doesn't know that she is a Knight and he frankly never asked. She told him her name but he never put two and two together and she never arrived with Royal Guards or in her uniform, so he must've figured it was a coincidence since he didn't freak out or anything and if he did know then he would've acted differently.

When she was younger, her and her brothers all had their own protection details and they were the Royal Guard and Shadow Guard, they also had Soldiers from the 501st Legion protecting them. He went overboard but he couldn't lose them and if they hated him for it and it protected them and saved their lives, it would be well worth it, that was his reasoning and that is what he explained to them.

Leia wore a nice dress, it was relatively short but silk white and went down to just above her knees. It was sleeveless and had some designs around the top of the dress and unique shapes and designs on the bottom but she covered up her dress with a black robe. It wasn't exactly toasty on Imperial City and she didn't exactly want everyone to see her dressed as she was, that was for her and her date to see alone.

Clarendox was a high scale restaurant in Imperial City, one of the finest and was the one that Leia chose to go to with Han, he complained about the money but Leia talked him into it and offered to pay but he refused, he apparently didn't want to look cheap or poor. Commander's get paid good money, not as much as an Imperial Princess but she isn't the Imperial Princess tonight, she is just Leia Skywalker and she had to make sure that the waiters and waitresses knew that.

She flew there on her own in her luxury speeder as she told him she'd meet him there and she did. She exited her speeder just outside of the dining establishment and left her speeder for the valet who graciously took it and flew off with it to wherever it was that they parked the speeders.

She entered the restaurant by herself and was greeted by a droid that led her to her table once she mentioned her name and the reservation. Han was already there and wearing his Imperial Naval Officer uniform, he always wore it and she removed her robe and revealed her dress and that had Han speechless with his mouth wide open in shock.

"How do I look?" Leia asked as she threw the robe on the bench and took a seat facing Han who was still speechless and looked like he was going to start drooling.

"You... you look... your..." Han couldn't form the words and Leia blushed, he wasn't a man of many words and usually said the wrong thing or was a little too cocky and tried showing off.

 _Boy is he in for a surprise_ , Leia thought to herself with an amused smile as she thought of how he would react when he found out that she really was a Princess and who her family was, if he was speechless now... he'll drop dead then.

"You're beautiful." He finally said with a smile trying to cover up his awkwardness, she was a decade younger than he and just legal but that didn't matter to him, she was beautiful, intelligent and confident in herself and that was important.

"Thank you." Leia replied with a smile of her own as she decided not to mention his awkwardness, she was used to it and instead looked at the menu on the datapad in front of her. "When did you finish your shift?" She asked while deciding what she wanted.

"I... didn't work today." He said looking at his uniform then back at her, "I just don't have that many clothes. I like wearing this, it's good for any occasion."

"Grey, yeah I guess it does work for any occasion as long as you don't care about people knowing that you're a Commander in the Imperial Navy." Leia raised her eyebrows and then saw the waitress come and the waitresses face lit up upon seeing Leia but she gave her a look and realized that she wasn't here as Princess, it wasn't her first time.

"Nice to see you again, Leia." The young waitress said with a smile as Leia handed her the menu datapad and Han did the same.

"It is nice to see you again too, Lissa." Leia replied with another smile, she was used to it but she had to keep up appearances. "Lissa, this is Han Solo. Han, this is Lissa, we used to go to school together."

Han and Lissa shook hands and greeted each other as Leia noticed that Han wasn't just nervous around her, it was all women apparently either that or he isn't very personable.

"Well Princess, what have you been up too lately?" Han asked as he sipped on his drink, it was alcohol but Leia wasn't sure which kind, she wasn't much of a drinker, she also found it funny that he always called her Princess without knowing she was THE Imperial Princess.

"Not much, actually." She lied but knew how to cover them up, at least from him. "My brother returned home, he was away for a while but finally returned home, other than that life has been boring as usual."

"I hear that, the Executor hasn't moved in weeks." Han complained taking another sip of brandy. "I train the new pilots and we do war games and drills but I miss just being out in space and visiting other planets. Of course, I like being here like this," he said raising his eyebrows at Leia, "but I don't like sitting around. I get a little antsy."

"I like travelling as well, I was actually on Alderaan shortly for work but I wasn't even there for a day when I recalled. I was no longer needed." Leia said sadly, she liked being a Knight and liked to get a taste of action every now and again but she did like being an instructor even though she didn't necessarily like being around Youngling's as often as she is.

"I've never been there but it is on my list of places to visit." Han commented as the food came, it didn't take long for food to be served on Coruscant especially not here. "I visited Tatooine, Naboo, Kashyyyk, Hoth, Geonosis, Muun, Kuat and many others but we didn't get to step foot on every one of them. Only when we got shore leave but being a Commander in charge of instructing, I am not normally one of those who gets missions to go to the surface."

"Well naturally, a Super Star Destroyer only has what three hundred thousand crew members onboard?" Leia asked rhetorically, of course she knew how many people served on the crew, she was stationed on the Executor once upon a time.

"Yeah... I am surprised you know that." Han skeptically replied, not many people knew how big the ships were and how many crew members actually serve at full staff.

"I know many fun facts, but the Super Star Destroyer's are pretty amazing and incredibly large." Leia said as she tried to steer away from conversations that could steer to her true identity but then she just had to know. "So, the Executor is the flagship of the Emperor, what do you think of him?"

Han's face went cold with that question and Leia could feel his fear, "well, someone who can kill me just by thinking about it, is a little scary." He admitted not knowing that Leia had that ability as well. "I honestly never met the guy, I'm not important enough to meet him."

"Well, what do you think of him as Emperor?" Leia decided to ask again, he never answered the question.

"I can't answer that, I don't know him well enough." Han replied as he began to eat his food as did Leia. "I will say that he is a fair man and isn't afraid of anything. He led a battle with my squadron when I was a Lieutenant on the Executor and he took command and led us right into battle, he was in the dogfight with the rest of us. You have to have respect for a man like that, especially considering he is the damn Emperor! He has no need to do something like that, he is too important and big for that."

"Impressive, it is known that he likes to fly and he likes to fight." Leia said knowing that first hand, she was in enough battles with him as he tried to teach the ways of the Force by targeting certain Rebel bases or chasing down Jedi or even just taking down those on the Empire's Most Wanted list.

"Yeah, he is the best star pilot in the galaxy... after me of course..." Han said with a smirk as he took another sip and ordered a refill since he finished his drink.

"Right..." Leia sarcastically replied.

"What are you planning for tomorrow?" Han asked randomly, Leia wasn't expecting that. He usually didn't make plans or showed any interest in more dates, he'd just randomly call and just say, _hey, you wanna maybe... hang out?_

"I have nothing planned for tomorrow except Sunday dinner with my family, how would you like to join me?" Leia asked with a flirtatious look, "it's only my dad and brothers."

"That's a big step." Han said obviously frightened at the aspect of meeting the family, he never did that with any date he had before.

"Well, we've dated for a few months now and went on over ten dates. Naturally, the next step is meeting the family." Leia replied trying to lure him into the trap, she couldn't tell him who they really were, he wouldn't go if she did. "I already told them about you and I spoke with my dad. They want to meet you."

"Really?" Han asked not really believing it, _no way she told them everything_.

"Really." Leia confirmed with a straight face hearing his thoughts clearly.

* * *

Starkiller and Luke met outside the Temple and left together for a speeder ride around the city. They weren't exactly sure where to go, but they wore regular clothes and tried to blend in with society.

"How does it feel to be back?" Luke asked as he allowed Starkiller to fly even though he knew it was suicide, much like it was when his father drove.

"It feels great!" Starkiller admitted as he enjoyed flying the convertible speeder and took in the fresh air, not as fresh as Alderaan but he grew up here and was used to the Imperial Center atmosphere. "It's great to be back home and with my family, I even missed you, as hard as that is to believe."

"Wow, you missed me?" Luke exclaimed sarcastically, "well, I didn't exactly miss you... that much."

"Anyone ever tell you how bad of a liar you are?" Starkiller rhetorically asked. "The whole galaxy knows you missed me, I felt it through our Force bond."

"Of course I missed you," Luke conceded. "We've only been together for over fifteen years now, you're my brother and you were gone for over two years!"

"Was that so hard to admit?" Starkiller asked as he kept his eyes on the skies in front of him as he flew along with the other speeders, "I don't plan on going on any more long term missions, not anytime soon anyway but I am back to work on Monday, my Master said he'll give me a mission if I wanted it-"

"Like you'd ever say no?" Luke sarcastically replied, _of course he'd want a mission..._

"You know me well." Starkiller smirked as he continued to drive and then took off to the east and flew away from traffic, he was one of the few people who could fly wherever he wants too. "I hope you don't mind us flying around for the fun of flying around, I haven't done this in a while."

"I don't mind at all." Luke replied as he was just happy to have his family back together, for the first time in over two years.

* * *

"We'll take the check now." Han said to the waitress who smiled and nodded as she left to get it as he turned his attention back to Leia, "well Princess, this has been... interesting."

"And so won't tomorrow night." Leia replied as she never got an answer, instead he decided to change the subject and Leia allowed then but not now. "Tomorrow night at five, meet me at the Imperial Palace."

Han almost spilled his drink on himself as he choked on his brandy, "Imperial Palace?" He asked.

"That is where I work." She lied but it was the best she could come up with and she sort of did work there... "I work for the Emperor, I am one of his aides."

"You never told me that." He replied trying to steer the conversation away again but Leia saw it coming a mile away.

"You never asked." She rebutted as the check came and Han took the datapad and paid with his credits.

"That is... true." He confirmed placing the extra credits back in his pocket and standing up with Leia following as they walked to the exit.

"Tomorrow night at five, be there or else." She warned him as her speeder was brought to her by the valet and Han couldn't believe what type of speeder she drove but she didn't say anything else as she entered the luxury speeder and flew off with Han's mouth wide open in awe.

"Be there or else..." He muttered to no one in particular.

* * *

 **Imperial Palace, Imperial Center**

"My Lord, as you requested." The Shadow Guard said as he entered the Dark Lord's office and left a datapad on his desk.

"Very good, dismissed." Vader replied as he took the datapad and watched the recorded footage and read the transcript, _Han Solo coming for dinner... great! Just when I get my family back she decides to bring a man ten years older than she, hmm this could be interesting afterall, I am sure Luke and Starkiller would love to chat with the perv._

* * *

 **That's it for Chapter 4!**

 **I hope you liked that dark scene... scenes! I sure did! I also know that Sidious didn't look the way he did because of the lightning, that was his appearance and the mask just wore off with the lightning being reflected off of him or something like that, but the lightning does do that to people with enough intensity and if you can't block it then it could have that affect on people.**

 **As you can see Luke is not like he is in canon, not at all. But he also didn't grow up the same way, he knows he will one day be Emperor and one day he will be expected to lead, but for now he is a Master Knight and his job is to defend the Empire and Emperor from any threats and to neutralize them. He is a threat assessor and his job is to assess threats and to neutralize the threat by any means necessary, that is one of his duties with Mara, they deal with more than just that though.**

 **The next chapter will be the dinner, meeting the family... boy is Solo in for a shock. It is also Sunday, in the story and it is a day of relaxation. What will Starkiller and Luke do now that they've been reunited?**

 **Please review or PM me and tell me how you like it! Or don't like it...**

 **Thanks!**


	5. Meeting the Family

**Emperor Vader Rules the Galaxy: Chapter 5**

* * *

 **Imperial Palace, Imperial Center**

Lord Vader sat in his office as he went over the latest report and it was not pleasant to read. Once again the Rebels have struck and it appears as though the ISB is getting nowhere, Vader decided not to arrest the Director of Intelligence yet as he decided he would rather catch him red handed rather than kill him based on one holorecording alone. One simple recording wasn't very enlightening especially not when it came from Prince Xizor, he could be trying to set up the Director while trying to have someone in his pocket bumped up to become Director or he may just be trying to get Vader to look at him instead of the real culprit. The Director may also be doing this to lure them into a trap and take credit for their demise, Vader wasn't sure which was correct, therefore he had to have him checked out.

You can't trust criminals and Prince Xizor is the King of criminals. He controls the Black Sun and the Black Sun is the most powerful and dangerous criminal organization in the galaxy and in influence and power, they rival the Galactic Empire. They are probably the largest threat to the Empire which is why the Emperor tolerates the Prince and why they do each other favors, neither of them want war but neither of them also want the other to gain more power. The Prince is known to hand over threats to the Empire while the Empire turns over threats to the Black Sun or handle them on their own, there is an unwritten agreement and understanding that states as such.

However both sides also take into account their own self interest, they won't help the other unless they gain something from it, the Emperor doesn't work for the Prince and the Prince doesn't work for the Emperor. Criminal organizations don't answer to the government, they fight the government, you can't be a criminal organization if you abide by the law.

The Prince did come through though for the Imperial Prince and they were there within moments, it's as if they planned it, maybe they knew an attack would happen or maybe they planned it or they may even just have a team there always on standby.

Alderaan isn't an important system and they are relatively peaceful which is why the Empire didn't have any military units there in the first place, not to mention they can't gather intelligence on them and their connections to the Rebels if they had a garrison stationed there but that changed after the last couple of days and now the Empire will see changes that have to be put into effect because of the Rebels and they only made things harder for themselves especially now that the Emperor knows that it is the Director of Intelligence feeding them this information.

"Your Majesty," Ahsoka said as she entered the Emperor's office and Vader waved her in and pointed to the chair across from him on the otherside of the large desk.

"Ahsoka, I need you to begin gathering intelligence on Director Isard." Vader said cutting right to the chase, something Anakin didn't really do but Vader and Anakin were two completely different people and she learned that. "I have reason to believe he is the Rebel's Shadow Operative."

"Really?" She asked surprised, obviously the Force didn't tell her but she didn't need all of the details.

"Really." Vader confirmed flatly. "I received the intelligence from Prince Xizor, obviously I can't take it at face value but it makes sense. They knew top secret information that we discussed in our meeting on Friday, they knew where to find Luke and Mara and set up an ambush knowing they'd leave the city to explore the mountains. And they just hit one of my cargo ships that were transporting experimental weapons, these weapons were going to be an upgrade for the Heavy Stormtroopers. These weapons can do serious damage and will, I need you to tap all of his communications and have him under constant surviellance, it will be difficult, I ask that you do it yourself."

"I see." She said in disbelief over the latest information. "Do we know why he is doing it? We know he doesn't like democracy, is he trying to overthrow you?"

"He is trying to get us into another Clone Wars, he wants the Knights spread thin to pick them off easier and then he'll try to take me out. We can't allow this pitiful rebellion throw us into a civil war, the galaxy almost didn't survive the last one." Vader said clearly angry but Ahsoka was too, she fought with Anakin in the Clone Wars and that changed the both of them.

"I will begin immediately, do you want just the Knights to handle this?" She asked as she stood and looked at Vader's back since he walked over to the window and looked out over his planet, one of many.

"I want only you to handle this, bring in only those you trust but don't tell them everything. I want this to be kept on a highly need to know basis." Vader emphasized and Ahsoka understood that, the Imperial Intelligence has more eyes and ears than anyone and they may very well have eyes and ears on the Knights but they both knew that no Knight would ever work for Intelligence nor divulge classified Knight information.

"Understood, we'll be in touch." Ahsoka said dismissing herself knowing the task in front of her wasn't going to be easy but it also wasn't impossible, she'd been in tougher situations before during the Clone Wars and the worse case scenario here is that she is made, but that doesn't mean her wire taps will be made. Tapping into the communications network used by Intelligence isn't easy but she is one of a few people who have access to said network and she has the authority to keep tabs on anyone in the Empire except for the Emperor.

Vader kept looking out the window knowing that Ahsoka left, he felt bad about not being closer to her afterall they were close once upon a time but then she decided to leave the Jedi and leave him. He knew she didn't do because of him, it was because of the Jedi Council not believing in her and they made her doubt herself, something that Vader didn't do. He never doubted himself he just felt as though he was under constant scrutiny and never did anything right even though he did everything right, they just never believed him! Why, would they? Didn't he make them proud? He was the public face of the Jedi during the Clone Wars and the Hero With No Fear, he was idolized by the denizens of the Republic yet the Council kept him on a leash and never gave him a mission of real importance. They paid for their mistakes, something he doesn't know he'd do if they allowed him to see his mother, if they helped him with Padme, but they wouldn't understand especially not Yoda being well over eight hundred years old and not even understanding what love or friendship really is, he was the only one of his species afterall and he lived numerous lifetimes, moreso than any human could ever live.

Vader knew that little green troll was out there somewhere but he also knew that he wouldn't dare cross him, Yoda may have been blind but he is a logical thinker unlike the Jedi he is facing now. The Jedi that are working with the Rebels are mostly Padawans and some Knights, no Master's besides Yoda are known to be alive, with the exception of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Vader had a feeling they were together, he ran them into hiding when he sieged their hiding spot and found his children and droids, they were there but slipped away but he had his children and that was all that mattered.

But he also found Padme dead, she was just lying there on a medical bed in a stasis field. He knew it was her before looking but he had to look and he was never as angry as he was in the moment, so angry in fact that he killed dozens of people, mostly his own because of how hurt and angry he was.

Then he had the twins and he had to take care of them, he knew they were very powerful Force sensitive beings and they were his and Padme's, they were all he had that had a piece of Padme within them. They were his children and Padme's and he wanted to make Padme proud and he knew that his turning to the Dark Side hurt her, but she didn't understand what that meant, just because Palpatine was evil didn't mean he was. So what if he killed Jedi and Jedi youngling's, they were his enemy and they stood in the way of him saving her and their unborn child, he would do it over and over and over again if he had to but Obi-Wan took everything he did away from him.

Obi-Wan took Padme away from him and he tried to do the same with the children.

He even had the gall to send him a holomessage that said that Padme died with their unborn child, an obvious diversion to buy him time but he stayed too long and apparently didn't know that Artoo Detoo and Threepio were both upgraded and created by Anakin, Artoo Detoo was heavily customized and Threepio was built from scratch and upgraded over the years. Why would Obi-Wan expect them both to be outfitted with tracking beacons, of course they weren't strong beacons, they were short range but all it took was knowing the frequency codes and being within the right distance and you have them, just like that.

It just so happened that the Exactor was the one to pick up the frequency since Vader knew that they had to be close to Mustafar since he assumed that Padme would need to see a Doctor for the twins and because she was unconscious after he Force choked her, she betrayed him and set him up to be killed, he defended himself, he hated that he hurt her but he couldn't change that. He just hated the fact that the last time she laid eyes on him was when he was Force choking the life out of her, of course had Obi-Wan not been there, he wouldn't have done that but he was and he did.

Now isn't the time to dwell on the past, he told himself as he turned around and saw Luke and Starkiller looking at him as they sat in the chairs across from his desk and they were staring at him curiously.

"I see you've been working on hiding your Force presences." Vader said impressed as he walked to his seat and sat down across from them, he knew they weren't going to just let it go though, they never did.

"We actually weren't," Luke said, he always felt as though he could say anything to his father no matter where they were or who else was present. Starkiller was always cautious and asked for permission to speak freely, Vader told him many times that he could always speak freely when they were alone and as long as he wasn't questioning his Master and Emperor but Luke didn't care. "What were you doing over there? I sensed that you were dwelling on the past."

"Nice try, my son." Vader said with a smirk as he logged onto his computer. "I was but I know you can't penetrate my mind, you can't even sense my emotions or what my thoughts are screaming... projecting."

"Fair enough, I saw that look many times and it was always about the same thing." Luke replied, which is why we're making you see a therapist... he thought as Vader immediately glared at him.

"When Mustafar freezes over." He replied looking at his computer screen as Starkiller had no idea what he was talking about nor did he read Luke's message, he wasn't listening in.

"Dad, you've been living with the pain for the last eighteen years and never talked about how you truly feel or what truly happened, you need to talk to someone about it." Luke insisted as he stood with his hands flat on the desk and eyeing his father as they were meeting at eye level. "Leia already talked to Rharo and he agreed to it as long as you did and the three of us will make you sit and talk to him even if we have to duel over it."

Vader stared at his son in disbelief, he didn't show it but he couldn't believe how brash his son was being, he was never like this! "With the amount of trauma, pain and sorrow that I went through, I don't even think Rharo will be able to handle it. You don't know what my life was like, Luke. You may think your training was hard but you were treated as the royalty you were... are. I was a slave my whole life as a boy, as a Jedi and as a Sith until I found you and Leia. I was a different man already when I found you, Starkiller but I was still hurt just as I am right now. If you ever lose the woman of your dreams, your soulmate, the one you can never live without, then you may understand but until then you won't understand that. I also lost my mother, the only family I had besides your mother, but we weren't married until a few days later. I had no one else, same with you guys except you have each other and the Knights and me. I had Obi-Wan Kenobi and he didn't trust me, he tried to kill me and he took you, Leia and your mother from me because he didn't agree with what I was doing, like I would've needed to take the desperate measures that I took if he had done his job like he was supposed too. He should've known that I was in a relationship with Padme as I took numerous trips to be with her on Naboo or I slipped away on Coruscant and refused to answer my comlink but he never found out what I was doing even when he knew the Senator and I were close, we may not have done anything publicly but he should've known as my Master and as the man that was with me everyday, he should've known.

"So Luke, you don't know and Rharo doesn't know what my life was really like. He may be a trauma specialist, but he doesn't deal with the amount of trauma that was my life. Nobody could possibly understand and talking about that would simply open closed wounds and I don't have that in me to relive through everything. I am a strong man, physically, mentally even emotionally on the surface but I have learned to live with everything and that is what everyone has to learn to do eventually. People die, it sucks but it happens and sometimes there is nothing you could do but sometimes there is which is why I dedicated my time as Emperor to learning everything the Jedi and Sith alike learned over the thousands of years and I learned what Plagueis learned, I learned how to stop people from dying but I can't bring people back from the dead and I can't change the past. Talking about it to a stranger won't help. I am the Emperor, I have to be strong and appear to be strong, I can't let weakness show." Vader explained the best he could as he leaned back in his chair and looked between Luke and Starkiller, he knew that his face looked like it always did, dead serious but he knew the boys felt his emotion in what he said, it managed to slip through his tough guy facade.

"So, I will get in touch with Rharo and set up the appointment, I will tell your secretary when it is to ensure you can't get out of it." Luke said after a few moments and continued before his father could shout at him, "Dad, please. Enough of this tough guy act, you are a ticking time bomb and you know it. I am your son, you can't hide everything from me, you're clearly not fine and you clearly haven't learned to live with everything. Just have one appointment with him and see how it goes, if it doesn't work for you, then we won't push. But I want at least one hour and I want you to talk about how you feel now, or about your past. I want a decent effort and if that doesn't work then fine, you get it your way."

Vader stared down his son some more and he definitely reminded him of himself as both Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader, it was frightening. He was always rebellious, always defiant, always thickheaded and always got his way one way or another, Luke is the negotiator, something Anakin wasn't but he was an excellent warrior and they're almost the same.

"Fine, one meeting." Vader finally said after about five or so minutes of glaring at each other and not backing down. Usually Vader could look at someone that way for just one second and they'd be trembling in fear and run away but Luke, he was a different story, same with Leia and even Starkiller but Starkiller still didn't feel the same way Luke feels. "That isn't why I asked you both here though." Vader said as he turned his computer screen for the boys to see and it was the case report on Han Solo.

"What about him?" Starkiller asked finally opening his mouth.

"He will be joining us for dinner tonight." Vader said clearly not happy about it and he wasn't trying to hide that.

"Why?" Luke asked clearly sensing his father's unpleasantness over the matter.

"Your sister is in a relationship with him." Vader said knowing they both about him which was why they didn't ask who he was. "All of you conveniently left out the fact that he was ten years older than Leia and a Commander not a Lieutenant, and serving onboard my Flagship."

Luke and Starkiller stared at each other uneasily, either they didn't know or didn't know how to answer the unasked question.

"I never met him before, I just sensed her thoughts and he was at the forefront and she told me what she told me. Obviously she didn't tell me the true age because she knew how all of us would react but we weren't trying to hide that from you or I wouldn't have mentioned it on Friday." Luke replied and Vader sensed it to be true, though he was surprised that he wouldn't check on him on his own, they were both overprotective of their sister.

Vader turned his attention to Starkiller and gave him the same glare that he gave Luke a couple of minutes ago.

"I was away for two years, back then it was just a crush she had on him and she said he was a Cadet at the Imperial Naval Academy." Starkiller lied, Vader knew it and crossed his arms and Starkiller knew he was busted. "Okay, so I checked him out and confronted her about it. But they weren't in a relationship at the time, she just thought he was cute and her soulmate, I told her it was her hormones talking, she slapped me for it." Starkiller said as his face turned red as Luke and Vader smiled on the inside but kept their serious expressions worn on their face. "I told her she was out of his league and to find someone else, apparently she didn't listen which is nothing new. What is it with women and not listening? They get mad at you for not listening to them or not taking their advice but they never take yours! What is wrong with that? So what if I like to make a bloody mess wherever I go, what's wrong with that?"

Luke and Vader turned their attention to each other and let Starkiller vent for a minute before they couldn't hold it anymore and started laughing hysterically. Starkiller hasn't changed at all, he is the worse liar in the family, his problem is he is a bit too honest and blunt. You don't want to ask him for advice because if it is you having a problem with someone, his advice is to have a bloodbath, in Starkiller's mind every problem could be dealt with by leaving corpses in your wake.

Starkiller didn't think what he said was funny and his face showed it a not very amused look as he looked between his brother and father.

"Well, he is coming tonight." Vader said moving on. "Leia didn't tell me yet, I assume she didn't tell you either. I doubt he knows who we are and we're all pretty intimidating whether we wear our armor or not, so lets be on our _best behavior_ tonight. Leia knows how we'll react which is why she lied to all of us, so let's try to prove her wrong. We'll be nice to Han, but don't be afraid to ask questions just not in your Starkiller voice or Imperial Master voice and I will try not to use my Dark Lord voice but you know it is always the same."

"We'll try..." Starkiller promised, but it wasn't a real promise and they all knew it.

"Yeah, _best behavior..._ " Luke said just as his father did, noncommittally.

"Good." Vader replied. "I'll see you at dinner tonight, you better be hungry, it will be a big dinner since we'll have a guest but mostly because our family is all here." Vader said looking to Starkiller referring to his mission finally being over.

"Sounds great!" Starkiller said happily, as he was just as glad to away from the terrorist scum he was forced to hang with. "I am definitely as hungry as a Rancor."

Luke and Vader knew that to be true, as they all had about the same appetite, except for Leia who didn't eat as much but she also wasn't a male, she was a _lady_ , or so she always insisted and she always called them Rancor's based on how they ate or how they much they ate... which is why Starkiller used that word to describe his appetite.

"Very good, I'll see you tonight then." Vader said dismissively, it may be Sunday but he still had work to do and the boys didn't which was why they didn't mind spending time with their father.

* * *

 **Imperial Knight Temple, Imperial City**

Leia was in the Temple but it was her day off and she was preparing for dinner tonight, she wasn't sure how she wanted to proceed. She knew she wasn't going to tell Han, she would just lure him there and lure him through the Imperial Palace and he won't be able to leave and he'll find out that she really is a Princess and not just princess, as he says all the time almost like he's mocking her unless he says it to every woman... Leia didn't know but he probably didn't either.

She was more worried about her brothers and especially her father. She knew that he loved her, they all did, they're family but that wouldn't stop him from killing Han especially if he came unannounced and was coerced into the whole dinner.

No, the Emperor would definitely not like his daughter to come home with a random stranger that he never met before even if he was an Officer serving on his own Flagship. Now if he was younger that'd be one thing but he is a decade older than her and Vader would definitely not be okay with that and she was sure that he already had a background check on him, chances are he already knew but how would he react?

He was always a wildcard and Leia could never pin him down, she thought she figured out her father but then he goes and surprises her time and time again. He is the master of being unpredictable, _that must be where Starkiller got it from_ , she guessed just realizing that they did spend a lot of time together and becoming predictable could become your undoing, he taught it to them all but he surely trained Starkiller to do just that.

Starkiller was another concern, he had no problem killing people just walking down the street, no one is safe not even in their own mind, Starkiller could hear your every thought and not many people know that, not many people know the full extent of the abilities and powers of the Knights although Luke and Leia herself could easily read almost anybodies mind.

Then there was Luke, he was another wild card and also protective of her sometimes maybe over protective but she is used to it since they're all over protective of her.

Leia dismissed her thoughts as she knew they would give her a migraine and she instead decided to meditate and hope her family trusted her enough to give Han the benefit of the doubt, but she knew that wasn't likely to happen. W _ishful thinking_ , she thought.

* * *

Luke and Starkiller decided it was early and Sunday and they usually dueled on Sunday's when they were both at the Temple and they hadn't dueled in... over two years, they both learned a lot since then and planned on putting that to the test.

Luke was dressed in his practice battle armor since the real battle armor is lightsaber proof, as was Starkiller except Starkiller wore black practice armor, same as the Knight armor just black. He was the only one who wore black besides Vader and he wore it because he was and wasn't technically a Knight, he had command authority over the Imperial Forces, the Knight's didn't and he worked on missions that Knight's don't do. He is a fixer, he fixes things from showing certain officials the error in their ways to showing people the path to the afterlife, he is very efficient at that.

Luke ignited his crimson blade as Starkiller did the same as they walked in circles around the lightsaber combat training room where there were many youngling's, Apprentices, Knight's and even a few Master Knight's watching from the observation deck above. It wasn't every day they got to see two of the best lightsaber duelers in battle and they weren't going to miss it for anything, not to mention it was Sunday, the only day they got off unless they had an important mission or something came up which is known to happen, quite often.

"I see you're feeling confident that you'll finally be able to defeat me." Starkiller observed as his yellow eyes focused on Luke's, that is something they learned, never take your eyes off of your opponent's eyes they tell you everything you need to know. "Just because I was undercover for two years doesn't mean I didn't practice."

"I am always confident, Starkiller." Luke rebutted as he continued to walk in circles waiting for the perfect moment to strike, Starkiller usually struck first but Luke wanted to change things up. "In those two years, I learned quite a bit. I had a lot of practice on Rebel scum and Jedi."

"I miss those days, fortunately I am going back to work tomorrow and hopefully will be going after the Jedi and Rebel scum." Starkiller admitted as he decided enough was enough and as he made his way to Luke crossing the circle in the middle of the room, Luke did the same and they had the same idea.

Red clashed with red.

The lightsabers sparked as they collided and retreated just to spark again as they met violently.

Luke and Starkiller smiled, they were thinking the same thing and Starkiller was surprised Luke tried to strike first, that wasn't like him usually he was the patient one.

They both moved back and circled again as they tried to think of what the other would do, but they weren't sure since it has been two years and they both changed from height and weight, to strength, to tactics, they evolved and that made them both unpredictable.

Starkiller decided again that it was time for the duel to begin, everyone watching wanted to see the best duelers in the Knights duel, not walk around the circle in the middle of the room as they sized each other up.

He crossed the circle again and the duel finally began.

Red clashed with red.

The lightsabers sparked as they collided as they both swung and met in the air above their heads as they both had the intention to strike overhanded but their attempts were thwarted and they fought off the others attack as they pushed each other back and they remained within striking distance.

They continued to stare each other down trying to find the others weakness but it wasn't easy, they were brothers and they weren't really trying to kill each other, they were just trying to make the other surrender after disarming them, injury was usually implied in the duel between the two, not death.

Luke moved in first this time and clashed furiously aiming low forcing Starkiller to react and defend himself as Luke attempted to throw Starkiller off his game, Starkiller was offensive while Luke was both but usually defensive against Starkiller, offensive against everyone else except for Vader.

Starkiller pushed off the low attack by Luke and quickly spun as he held his saber out in his right hand as he tried to connect with Luke but Luke defended himself and blocked the attack, he pushed away the attack and pushed Starkiller back as he tried to gain the upper hand by moving as fast as he could and attacking fiercely and he did just that.

Luke was twirling and swinging his blade so fast that the it made the youngling's dizzy but Starkiller saw every swing and easily blocked them all as he pushed his brother back with a Force push and Luke was prepared for it, he blocked most of the push but was still caught off guard as he was forced to his knee to hold himself up.

Starkiller seized the opportunity and struck at Luke with a vertical downwards swing but Luke blocked it as Starkiller knew he would and Starkiller raised his boot and kicked Luke square in the chest as he knocked him on his back and he was trying to pin him down to seize his lightsaber but Luke was expecting it and rolled backwards as Starkiller tried to pounce on him and Luke raised his lightsaber and was ready for an attack, it didn't happen.

Luke was back on his feet and he smiled as his yellow eyes shone brightly, "I haven't been on the defensive like this since the last time we dueled, I always like a challenge." Luke admitted, they were rare to find.

"Glad I can be of assistance." Starkiller replied with a smile of his own as his eyes were closer to red or orange than they were yellow, he has a lot more anger that he could tap into than Luke, and he isn't afraid to do so.

They both walked closer as they held their lightsabers defensively as they approached each other again within striking distance and they stared each other down.

Usually lightsaber duels are over in under a minutes, usually in the first few strikes but these two can duel for hours before there is a victor and it has ended in a draw more than once. But when there was a victor it was always Starkiller, he just had that unpredictability and he used it often, it made him dangerous and someone who is unpredictable is inherently dangerous especially when your name is Starkiller.

Starkiller struck again as he aimed for Luke's abdomen and Luke brushed off the attack and forced Starkiller's blade to the right as he tried to strike fast but Starkiller jumped in the air and jumped backwards and landed on his feet looking at Luke, "nice try." Starkiller complimented him.

Starkiller stood at six feet tall while Luke was a few inches shorter, Starkiller also weighed more than Luke and was stronger, he always was. Starkiller had the advantage in almost everything but Luke was faster and Luke was more logical than Starkiller and rational, Starkiller was more rash and reckless.

The two continued to duel as they slashed, clashed and twirled their blades at one another, but sure enough they both did get better over the last two years, especially Luke. Starkiller hasn't used his lightsaber as much as Luke as he only used it in the field when he had too but he was told not to use it except when he had no other choice by the Rebel leaders, they didn't want to give away who attacked the Imperial's if they didn't have too. Any Imperial that was killed by a lightsaber was always of interest to the Emperor and he would check them out himself or have his Knight's investigate and that was never welcomed by the Rebel's for the obvious reason.

Starkiller and Luke kept swinging and twirling as they tried to strike hard and fast enough to break the others defenses but they knew it would take more than just swinging their blades to defeat the other. They'd have to knock the other off balance, they'd have to use the Force and that was what they were going to do.

Luke held his hand out as he tried to Force push Starkiller but he anticipated the push and jumped over Luke's head as he launched the Force push and he landed on the otherside of him and caught him off guard as he punched Luke in the face and kicked him in the knee and kneed him in the face.

Luke fell on his back and swung his legs around and took Starkiller down as he kicked him in the chest, he heard a cracking sound as he leaped up and tried to strike down his brother but failed as Starkiller blocked the strike with his lightsaber.

Starkiller was impressed, he wasn't expecting that and could react and he immersed himself into darkness to conceal the pain as he tried to heal his injuries or at least mask them for the time being.

Starkiller retaliated and went on a frenzy as he treated Luke as an enemy combatant, a Rebel terrorist and he used the lightsaber as a distraction as he did simple Force moves like slightly moving objects in Luke's way, moving the training mat at an angle that'd make him trip, messing with Luke's prosthetic hand for a microsecond for him to lose his grip and they paid off as he disarmed Luke and hit him with an elbow to the left cheek and sent him down on his ass.

Starkiller held the lightsaber to Luke's throat as he knelt down over him and demanded his surrender, Luke immersed himself into darkness and quickly raised his boot and pulled it back as he booted Starkiller in the face forcing him backwards and giving him time to get his lightsaber back and as he reached out for it he kicked Starkiller's away and punched him in the face. He knew he'd have a black eye and that was a great shot, he never left visible injuries on Starkiller usually it was he with the obvious marks of defeat, but today he was triumphant regardless if he wins or loses.

The fighting and dueling continued for another half an hour as they started to get worn out by the relentless attack of the other and Starkiller gained the upper hand as he wore Luke down enough and injured him enough to overpower and end him. He wouldn't kill him, if that was his intention the duel would've ended long ago but this was training and it wasn't supposed to easy, for Luke anyway.

Starkiller used the Force and threw Force lightning at Luke and he was forced to block it, he did and Starkiller eventually released the strike and he opened himself further into darkness and he had enough of the duel. He threw a Force push at him and charged at Luke with his lightsaber as he went on an unrelenting assault and overpowered Luke and snatched his lightsaber away and used the Force to throw it across the room, he elbowed Luke in the face again and he fell and again he hovered over him with the lightsaber at his throat and his knee on Luke's throat applying a little pressure, "surrender?" Luke nodded and Starkiller stood and helped Luke up as he slapped him on his back with a smile, "you did good, today. You have been practicing but you won't ever defeat me."

"There is always a first time for everything." Luke rebutted with a smile as he held his sprained or fractured arm and could feel the pain throughout his body from various injuries, but they had to get to dinner and could get their injuries looked at later.

* * *

 **Imperial Palace, Imperial Center**

It was time for dinner and the cooks and servants were hard at work, this was an important dinner, not because of Leia's guest but because the family was finally back together again after two long years.

Vader was ready and dressed in the same clothes he always wore, his black cloak covering the black clothes underneath. Black armor, black pants, black long sleeve shirt, black boots and black gloves on both of his hands. He still has his left hand but in his attempt to bury Anakin Skywalker the best he could he changed his appearance and Anakin always wore one glove and Jedi garb, he couldn't wear the same apparel. He even cut his hair short, he kept it blond but he didn't need the long hair to remind him of who he used to be although the scar over his right eye always reminded him.

He tried to bury him the best he could until he found his children, but even then he wasn't Anakin and didn't want to be. Anakin was naive and idiotic and paid for that by learning that he was a fool and he rescinded who he was and evolved into Darth Vader. The name change was warranted as all Sith change their names to align them with who they strived to be and what they represented.

He may have also rescinded his Sith ways but he kept the name Vader, he dropped the Darth from his name and his name just became Lord Vader.

Lord Vader was always scarier than Anakin Skywalker, Skywalker gave them hope while Vader sent chills down peoples spines just by staring them down or by hearing the name.

He hoped to do just that soon when Leia arrives with her date...

* * *

Luke and Starkiller changed out of their training uniforms and Luke wore his red uniform without the battle armor, he wore red clothes like the old Jedi garb except just red and black with a red cloak over them.

Starkiller wore the same except he wore black clothes with red stripes, it matches his battle armor almost except his battle armor is just black without the red but it did have the red Knight's logo on the chest and back of the armor.

They entered the Palace together through a private entrance and made their way to the turbolift to take up to the residence.

The Stormtroopers, Royal Guards, Shadow Guards and Imperial Sovereign Protectors stood at attention and saluted as the Imperial Princes walked by and the Princes acknowledged them but they didn't need to salute back, they really didn't even need to acknowledge them but they all work together and they don't want to seem to be inconsiderate jerks that care about no one but themselves, they know that one day they'll rule the Empire and they'll need the Imperial's on their side.

"It's nice to be home, its been way too long." Starkiller admitted as he rode the turbolift up from the main level to the top floor accessible by this turbolift which is the most secure floor in the palace.

"I'm sure it is and it has been too long, two years too long." Luke agreed, he missed his brother and couldn't believe that his father would assign him a deep undercover mission, they were closer than he and his father.

"Well, you will definitely be seeing more of me now that I am back but you know it'll be back to normal tomorrow as we have our own missions and work to do." Starkiller loved work, he loved to torture, he loved to kill, he loved to do anything that involves pain, anger and hatred. He always had the Dark Side in him and very little Light but he was always good at masking his feelings unless it suited him to show just how evil he was.

"I like normal." Luke admitted as the door opened and they disembarked the turbolift and passed more Royal Guards and Shadow Guards as they cleared the path and stood at attention. Only the Stormtroopers salute, the Guards just stand like statues while they hold their Force pikes and Lightsaber pikes.

"Normal? I think we're anything but normal but routine, yes I like routine sometimes..." Starkiller liked the unknown more but he did like spending his time with his family more, they are the only thing he likes more than causing people pain and misery.

* * *

Leia met Han outside the Palace at the private entrance as Han was just expecting to pick her up, but that isn't the plan and he just discovered that as she was dressed in a red dress, the Knight's color but not Knight apparel. She wore a red cloak over it though since it was a bit chilly out and she didn't want everyone to see, she was a bit shy and she had an image to uphold.

Leia walked up to Han and waved a Stormtrooper over as Han looked confused and wasn't sure what was happening, "the trooper will park your speeder, I have to finish up with work, it shouldn't take longer than ten minutes. Come with me." She informed him as he hesitated before stepping out of the vehicle, he didn't believe her and knew something fishy was happening but he didn't say it.

"So you really work here?" Han asked a bit surprised as he never stepped foot in the Palace, usually its reserved for the high ranking Imperial's and the Imperial First Family, he was neither of those.

"I really do," she lied. She worked at the Temple, she lives here though or at least did and she still has her room as there are over thirty bedrooms and Vader always wanted his children to feel welcome to come home, they were still young and they were all he had. "I take it, you've never been here?" She asked knowing he hasn't based on what he was thinking, it wasn't exactly a private thought.

Han shook his head as he looked around the luxurious corridor as the Stormtroopers from the 501st Legion stood at the side with their blaster rifles, the Emperor's Royal Guards stood with their Force pikes, the Shadow Guard stood with their Lightsaber pikes and even the Imperial Sovereign Protectors were present with their Force pikes except they were scythe-like unlike the Royal Guards. He was impressed and terrified, these were all cold blooded killers who had absolutely no problem taking your life without questioning orders, their motto was kill first and... well that was that, kill first.

He was then confused when the Stormtroopers stood at attention and saluted as the Royal Guards, Shadow Guards and Imperial Sovereign Protectors all stood at attention, he knew they weren't doing it for him, Stormtroopers did take orders from him sometimes but these were the Emperor's Stormtroopers who only take orders from him and those he assigns to command them. That was one thing but the rest of them, they shouldn't have been acting like that. They had absolutely no reason to be standing at attention, unless she was a high ranking Imperial...

"What exactly is your job here?" He finally asked as they waited for the turbolift and he kept his eyes forward as he didn't want to look back and be further intimidated, he was nothing compared to them and he knew it. He may be a Commander but they answer directly to the Emperor and that is way above him even though he serves onboard the Emperor's Flagship.

"I work for the Emperor, I am more of a messenger than anything for him." She replied, it wasn't a lie. She does send messages for the Emperor except she doesn't send any messages that he would know about.

"And for that, they stand at attention and salute to you?" He asked quizzically, he clearly didn't buy it and he'll discover the truth soon enough.

"They always have, I don't question it." She simply replied as the turbolift came and she hit the very top floor, almost ten thousand feet in the air.

Han didn't question that either, he knew that wasn't true but he wasn't going to call her a liar especially not in the damn IMPERIAL PALACE!

The ride to the top floor, top floor in this turbolift was ridden in silence as Han noticed it was even more luxurious and had statues of the Imperial First Family and the fearless Emperor Vader by himself in another one, if he paid closer attention he would've noticed the daughter was Leia but she was only nine in the statue and not eighteen as she is now but she was surprised he hadn't put two and two together, she did give his real name she just never said that she was THAT Leia Skywalker and he didn't ask.

She led him to the Imperial Residence as the Royal Guards opened the door to allow them entry and they entered the foyer and it was marvelous and golden, literally twenty karat gold and the most luxurious marble floors. The center of the room was another statue of the Imperial First Family, all four of them with Vader towering over his children behind them as they barely made it to his chest.

Han was impressed and scared, he didn't know it was the Imperial Residence, he just knew he was entering uncharted territory and he was feeling uneasy about it but didn't speak them aloud.

* * *

Vader was already in the dining room as he looked over a datapad, Ahsoka confirmed her investigation was underway and she had her Intelligence Operatives already at work without telling them much but to watch out for certain intelligence and reports and to keep their eyes and ears open for certain information.

Vader put his datapad down as he heard his sons approaching and they entered wearing their identical clothes except with their unique colors, red for Luke and black for Starkiller. Vader himself was wearing black as well except he didn't have the red stripes that Starkiller had in his clothes but Starkiller wears that because that is the color of his unit, all of his team members wear identical uniforms except they're mostly Stormtroopers.

"You two must have been dueling." Vader observed as he noticed the bruises and limping from the boys, mostly Luke but Starkiller did have a black eye, it only makes them look tougher.

"First time in two years, Luke has improved." Starkiller commended his older brother, he may be older but he doesn't use his raw Force power the same way Starkiller does but he has improved and that is important.

"I see that, it's been a long time since you had a bruised face." Vader replied with a smile, most parents may freak out or complain about their children fighting but Vader isn't most parents and Starkiller and Luke aren't most children, although they are both adults now.

"Yeah, I broke one of his ribs too." Luke said proudly even though he had more injuries and a messed up left arm that was in a sling.

"Lucky shot." Starkiller retorted as he held his arm against his chest as he entered the dining room and they took their seats waiting for Leia and Han to arrive before eating, the food hasn't been served yet but it will be momentarily.

"There is no such thing as luck.." Luke rebutted as he stared down his brother and smiled proudly at his bruised eye.

"I was a little rusty..." Starkiller said with a shrug, "you had the last two years to improve and I was mostly stuck using blaster's, the Rebels didn't exactly want me using the lightsaber, they said it brought too much unwanted attention to them, which of course it does. However, I don't need a lightsaber to kill people as easily as I do." Starkiller smiled at his last comment, while Luke rolled his eyes.

Vader said nothing he just sat in his chair with his elbows on the table enjoying the bickering between the boys, he missed it and he won't complain, he usually never did as long as they kept dinner civil but tonight was probably not going to be civil, they have an unwelcome guest and he is dating Leia and is a decade her senior... no probably not a civil dinner but he'll try his best.

That is when Leia's footsteps were heard as her heels echoed throughout the corridor and into the dining room she arrived with Han as he stopped in his tracks with his mouth open wide and snapped to attention as he saluted Vader as he looked on in amusement, obviously he didn't know about the family... Vader mused as Starkiller and Luke looked on unimpressed putting their best overprotective faces on.

"At ease, _Commander_ Solo." Vader said as he gestured to the chairs to his right where Leia usually sat and the she moved to the chair and Han sat next to her when he was realized that this wasn't a dream or nightmare but reality.

"Thank you, sir." The Commander said as he sat down to the right of Leia and across from Starkiller as Starkiller and Luke looked at him and made him feel immediately uneasy which isn't hard to do when you know their track records. "Why didn't you tell me?" He whispered to Leia who smiled and looked around the table.

"I would make introductions, but it is obvious you know each other." Leia said stating the obvious as her father called him Commander even though his rank insignia was obvious and his name badge was also obvious.

"Naturally," Vader replied to Leia. "No one comes to close to you without me knowing their life story." He told his daughter as he looked to the boys, "I don't need to be too protective when it comes to them for the obvious reasons. Starkiller isn't named Starkiller for no reason and Luke is with Mara." Vader turned his attention back to Leia as the maids came in the food and beverages. "You did however forget to mention that he was a Commander on my Flagship."

Leia sighed and looked between her father and brothers, "I didn't forget to mention it." She corrected him. "I left it out so that you wouldn't judge him before you met him. I should've known you would have your lapdogs run a background check on him though."

"Well, Leia." Vader said sternly. "You are my only daughter and father's tend to be more protective of their daughters than their sons since sons can't get pregnant and they also don't let hormones control their actions."

"No, it's their testosterone that does that along with their pen-" Leia was going to continue when Vader put his hand in the air and she knew better than to go against him.

"Father's also tend to be protective when the man their daughter is dating is ten years older and the daughter lies about his age and rank." Vader finished his statement as if Leia said nothing. "With that being said, Commander Solo, or Han since we're off duty and ranks mean nothing to me since I am the Commander-in-Chief and Emperor and I rule everything. With that being said, I won't judge you based on my daughter's lack of trust in me."

Han nodded but was still shaking, his leg was and he kept his left hand on his knee trying to get it to stop but it wasn't working, how could it? "Thank you for giving me a chance, sir."

"Enough with the sir, you can call me..." Vader trailed off, what could he call him? Everyone calls him sir, or Your Majesty, or Your Highness, or Lord Vader... or dad but he isn't his father. "You know what, let's stick with the Sir or Lord Vader, your choice. So Solo, tell me about yourself and family." Vader already knew everything he needed to know but he these were normal questions fathers had for boys... men dating their daughters.

"I was born on Corellia, I don't know much about my parents other than I was abandoned and taken in by a bounty hunter at a young age." Han started. "A man named Garris Shrike, a bounty hunter, took me and raised me to be his asset in his criminal enterprise. He left the bounty hunting and turned to a life of crime using me and other orphans to steal stuff and for tricks and of course he collected the money figuring he was taking care of us and those credits would continue to do that. He abused us and was a very angry man who took his anger and temper out on us. I eventually freed myself from his captivity and continued a life of crime since I couldn't really take care of myself otherwise and once I became of age, I applied to join the Imperial Naval Academy and was accepted. I was in the Navy ever since, I am currently the Flight Instructor for new pilots onboard your Flagship, as you know."

Vader nodded and Leia was surprised, he never told her about his childhood, he always changed the subject and now she knew why, it wasn't pretty. Neither was Vader's, he was used to the abuse but he was never used to steal things or for tricks, he definitely wouldn't have allowed anyone to do that to him, he would've lashed out and struck them down before they got close enough.

"How do you like the Navy?" Starkiller asked in his deep Starkiller voice that could send shivers down on your spine, he has that voice then the other Starkiller voice but this was the intimidating one.

"I like it, I really do." Han replied as the food was served and they removed the plate covers and started to eat. "It's definitely better than smuggling and working for the Hutt's..."

"Ain't that the truth..." Vader agreed. "I used to live on Tatooine, for seven or eight years anyways and the Hutt's ruled that planet then. I was owned by Gardulla the Hutt for a short time and she was a bitch, a real fat bitch. Seriously, she stunk up the room and abused my mother and I and I so badly wanted to kill her. Of course I couldn't then but I did get my revenge when I became Emperor. I would do the same to Jabba but we don't have the time or resources to take out the Hutt's just yet and we did push them into a corner as we took many of their worlds from them."

"I didn't know that, sir." Han replied, he would've never thought the Emperor was a slave or lived on Tatooine. Much of the information on Vader and Anakin Skywalker was classified and removed from the holonet, he didn't want people knowing about his childhood or past and many people didn't know not even during the Clone Wars.

"I had that information removed from all public computers, I had no intention of allowing people to know of my past, it isn't pretty." Vader admitted as he ate the Bantha Steak, one of his favorites and it was a delicacy for him and his mother on Tatooine and very rare to eat. Eopie cream pie was also one of his favorites, the animals were pretty cool and very friendly but they were also good eating. He couldn't wait to leave Tatooine but he still eats Tatooinian food. "My past is of no importance to the people, they see me as I portray myself, I don't want them to feel pity for me. Afterall, the Emperor needs to act tough and appear to be tough, how could I do that if all they remember is the kid who was a slave to a Hutt then to a Toydarian? Not very intimidating even though people have no say in their childhood."

"I wouldn't think that at all, sir." Solo remarked, Vader was a very large and intimidating man. The scar over his eye, his prosthetic arm, his commanding presence, his attire, his attitude, his power, nope he doesn't exactly look weak like he did when he was a slave. "You certainly are an imposing figure now, and a very feared man."

"Damn straight." Vader agreed, that was his goal. "You can't run an Empire like I do without being tough, not all choices are easy to make and sometimes I have to make the tough decisions and not everyone will agree with them but I am the Emperor and I have to make certain examples of how far I am willing to go to maintain peace and order, something that hasn't happened in ages, in the galaxy at large."

"That is why you have me." Starkiller said not taking his eyes off of his plate, neither did Luke. "What better weapon is there than Starkiller?"

Vader smiled but didn't laugh, he only laughed when it was just his family. Nobody really saw the Emperor as a happy man, he wanted to portray himself to be an angry man, or a determined man is a better word.

"That's right." Vader agreed. "Just the name is intimidating then you and your powers, even more intimidating. Luke and Leia are intimidating in their own ways but most Knights aren't as intimidating as you, Starkiller."

"Hey, I can be just as intimidating." Luke chimed in. "Just ask those Rebel's from Alderaan."

"We can't, you killed them." Starkiller replied even though he knew that was what he meant.

"Exactly, I got them to talk though through fear and intimidation." Luke smiled at that, he was always the bad cop and he enjoyed playing the role. "But I did give them the chance to cooperate, only one chose too and only after I killed one of her comrades and was choking the life out of another."

"That's the best way to get them to talk, to make them feel responsible for the death of their family or friends." Starkiller agreed, it was a tactic he used many times except he usually made them do the killing or he would make the person suffer to the point of where the suspect would kill the victim out of mercy. "The rebels have a conscience and aren't willing to go the extra mile, that is why the Jedi Order died and it'll be why they die and become extinct as well."

Han was feeling uneasy about the conversation and had a hard time eating but everyone else was eating easily as if they weren't talking about mutilation, obviously they were used too it.

"You don't approve?" Luke asked out loud asking Han without looking at him. "You don't think we should treat terrorists like terrorists?"

"I didn't say that." Han said defending himself when he realized he was sitting at a table full of people who could read his mind, he kicked himself for that. "I just don't normally talk about torturing or killing people while eating."

Luke just nodded as Starkiller stared at him chewing his food with his mouth closed, Leia shook her head and Vader continued eating like nothing was happening.

"You're feeling uneasy, I sense." Vader observed feeling the unease rubbing off of Han, he was sure everyone could feel it, that is one of the bad things about the Force, there is no real off switch. "It must be a little unnerving sitting with the Imperial First Family, especially without being told that you'd be eating with the Imperial First Family." Vader said looking to Leia.

"If I told him, he wouldn't have come." Leia shrugged defending herself, everyone knew it was true. "He would've been scared off, now that I think of it, how did you know?"

Vader just stared at her, _really? You should know that nobody can get one over on me..._ Vader said through the Force directly to Leia.

Leia shook her head, of course she knew that he'd know. He does know everything.

"I am the Emperor, there are very few things that I don't know." Vader said to Leia but said it aloud for everyone to hear. "The few things that I don't know is left to the Intelligence Community and the Imperial Military to discover what I don't know and they inform me. The most pressing thing that I don't know is where the damn Rebels are but tomorrow that is what Starkiller will discover as he hunts them down and puts an end to them, one Rebel at a time."

"It'll be my pleasure." Starkiller replied with his brown eyes turning yellow, as it turned him on. It was like sex to him, he loved the buzz of hunting people down and finally capturing them, torturing them and then finally killing them.

"We know." Leia said disapprovingly making Starkiller laugh, she never approved of his methods but she isn't so innocent herself.

"Well, Princess, not everyone at this table is free of committing atrocities in the eyes of the Rebels." Starkiller said looking around knowing besides Vader he has the most blood on his hands followed by Luke then Leia, but Han didn't have any and he said as much. "Except maybe you."

"I'm not exactly an angel but I'm not exactly innocent myself." Han admitted as Vader turned away at the word of Angel, he didn't like it even though he does call Leia his little Angel, he just didn't like other people saying it.

"Oh, yeah?" Starkiller asked with anticipation as he wanted to hear about it. "Tell us the worst act you ever committed."

Han had to think of that as he looked around and knew if he was at a normal table he would feel uncomfortable about it but he is sitting at a table full of mass murderers, they could handle it. "I killed numerous people over the years, mostly as a kid. I killed to defend myself when aliens tried to kidnap me, I killed to defend myself against pirates, I killed to defend myself against bounty hunters who were hunting me because of Jabba the Hutt. I also killed those who tried to get me to... buy me for certain service..." He didn't have to explain that as everyone got the hint.

"Well, I hope you made them suffer." Starkiller said after a few moments of silence. That was implied when he sad tricks but that could mean many things, now they knew what he meant by it and it made them hate the Shrike guy even more. "I would've kept them alive and tortured them for years if anyone tried to do that to anyone in my presence."

"I just shot them with my blaster pistol and took off." Han admitted as he dropped his fork obviously not hungry anymore. "The Force would've come in handy though."

"That it does." Vader agreed, without it he wouldn't know where he'd be. "Whatever happened to the Shrike guy?"

"Oh, he's dead." Han replied with a sideways smile. "He found me here on Imperial Center and tried to retake me into his captivity, well he tried to collect the bounty on my head but another bounty hunter was there and killed him. I managed to escape after that. It was disappointing that he died so quickly and that I didn't have the luxury of pulling the trigger but he was dead and I got to move on without having to look over my back. I eventually paid off the Hutt's and got the death mark removed but I still look over my shoulder, it's a force of habit even though I'm mostly on the Executor."

"Well that is good." Leia said finally speaking, dinner was going better than she thought it would. She felt compelled to apologize to her father for lying to him now, but she would have to do that later.

"What about your parents?" Vader asked knowing who they are and what happened to them but he doesn't know if he knows or cares to know. "Did you ever find them or look into who they were?"

"The way I see it is that they abandoned me and forced me to do horrible things and endure abuse, I didn't care to know them or why they left me." He admitted, then continued. "I found out who they were but it was only limited."

"Well if you ever want to know what happened to them, you could always ask me another time." Vader replied as he had the report on his datapad, and it wasn't pretty nothing ever was. Looks could be deceiving and usually were.

Han nodded with a ghost of a smile, he didn't want to know and Vader knew it but he also knew that it would eat at him and he'd want to know in order to have closure or to be able to move on.

"Looks like it's time for dessert!" Luke said happily as the maids came in and removed their dinner plates and replaced them with their favorites, Vader didn't know what Han ate so he just got him some pie and ice cream, who doesn't love pie and ice cream?

Leia shook her head with a smile at her brothers comment, he ate everything on his plate yet still had room for dessert. That was Luke.

"That time it is." Vader said as he had the second largest plate, Luke had the largest since he ate the most. "Only Luke could eat a Rancor and a Bantha in one sitting."

Luke smiled as he dug in and he ignored them as he was going to enjoy his food without having it disturbed by the truth, he did have a big appetite and there was nothing wrong with that, so he reasoned.

"Well Han, you were the first date that Leia ever brought home and you survived dinner, it is a very rare thing." Vader admitted, most people couldn't take it but then again no one was really invited for dinner with the Imperial First Family. "I hope we didn't scare you too much, even Starkiller kept his lightsaber on his belt, that is also a very rare thing."

Starkiller smiled at the compliment, "that's true." He said.

"Leia, I hope now that you don't feel the need to hide the truth from me especially when you know that I will discover it and I always know when you're lying." Vader insisted, he hated nothing more than people who kept the truth from him or lied to him, people have died for doing that and people have died for even less.

"I wasn't necessarily lying, just not telling the whole truth..." even Leia didn't believe what she said and she received glares from her family and they were like daggers. "Okay, so I did. Like I said, I had to do so to get you to give him a chance before you had him executed."

"Executed?" Vader pretended to be offended by such a comment. "Me? The honorable Imperial Majesty, the Emperor Lord Vader, an executor? You wound me, child."

Leia wasn't impressed or amused and her expression said it all.

Vader stopped acting and shrugged, "well, now I don't have a choice..."

"Father." Leia said as she and Vader stared each other down before Vader smiled and looked to Han who looked terrified that he was about to be murdered and of course Starkiller and Luke didn't help ease tensions as they glared at him like they were going to use their Force powers on him and make him explode or something, or so Han thought.

Vader said nothing, he just sighed and looked at the boys and then to Han and back at Leia.

"Fine, he is spared, this time." Vader said noncommittally. "This time."

Han said nothing as the boys kept staring him down as if laser was going to shoot from their eyes and burn Han alive, but they can't do that, yet at least.

"Starkiller, Luke, leave the poor Commander alone." Vader said depressed about the order, or so he pretended to be depressed. "Don't worry Han, you won't be executed unless you hurt Leia in that case, I make no promises."

Vader stood after he said that and wiped his mouth with the napkin as he rolled it into a ball and left it on his plate as he was about to excuse himself, "this was fun." Not what he planned but alright despite the circumstances. "I have to get back to work, children play nice." Vader was about to be out of visual range when he reappeared, "Luke, Starkiller be sure to get yourselves checked out when you leave here." That was an order and they both knew that they'd have to, they could have their injuries treated in no time and it would appear as though they never got injured.

Leia and Han left shortly after and Han couldn't get out of there fast enough, he was never as terrified as he was during dinner, the Emperor alone is scary but then Luke and Starkiller and finding out that his date is THE PRINCESS LEIA SKYWALKER, he wasn't expecting that. Han was happy to be out of the Palace as he hopped in his speeder and promised to call Leia later but he was freaked out and just happy to be alive.

Leia thought it was hysterical, but she hid her laughter until after he was out of earshot but she wouldn't let Luke and Starkiller see that either. She was happy that they didn't torment him as much as she thought they would or intimidate him but they were pretty intimidating figures even without trying to be.

Luke and Starkiller ended their dessert after everyone else left and they made their way to the infirmary in the Palace, it was the best med center in the galaxy and had the best medical professionals and the best medical technology and medicine available, even the experimental and still classified medicine and technology.

Vader excused himself before everyone else and he went to his personal office and just sat there thinking about Padme and what she's missing out on. He wished everyday that this was a dream and that he would awaken to find Padme lying next to him in their bed but he knew that was only wishful thinking. He knew that he would never be truly happy and he didn't even try to be except when he was around his family, they brought him happiness but there would always be an empty hole in his heart from where Padme used to be. That was why he made his trips to Naboo in secret to be with her, she might be dead but she is perfectly preserved and if he ever found a way to bring her back, he would give it a shot but he wasn't sure if his knowledge was enough to bring her back and even if he did, what would she think of him? What would she think of their children? He wasn't sure and that kept him up at night, well it would keep him up at night if he was ever actually able to fall asleep for longer than a couple hours at a time, that is.

* * *

 **That's it for Chapter 5! How'd you like it? I liked it! You have to love the bluntness and attitude of the Emperor and Knight's, intimidating and scary without even trying to necessarily be intimidating or scary.**

 **I have the plot for the future planned out and I plan on using the Yuuzhan Vong down the road, this will be interesting but that is down the road, like thirty chapters down the road... (maybe not literally but you get the point)**

 **Please review or PM me your thoughts! I also want some ideas to include in future chapters! It could be some sort of drama situation or plot twist or short term plot or long term plot, etc...**


	6. Back to Life as Usual

**Thanks to all of the followers and all of those who favorited my story! Thanks to everyone else who reviewed too! I love reading reviews!**

 _ **For the beginning, I am using the Revenge of the Sith novelization (if you haven't read it, don't worry about it, you don't need too), I find it to be better than the movie, the movie is rushed on this scene, in my opinion and it makes Vader look like a badass unlike the movie. I do like Hayden Christensen in Episode 2 & 3 and many people blame him for his acting and ruining the prequel's but it wasn't his fault, they didn't make him as strong as Vader in the originals and you have to remember this was Anakin becoming Vader and you can't expect him to make that leap that quick. Nevertheless, I like the evilness that they portray in the book better than the Revenge of the Sith movie...**_

 _ **Enough of my banter...**_

 **Emperor Vader Rules the Galaxy: Chapter 6**

* * *

 **Imperial Palace, Imperial Center**

 _Lord Vader ended his transmission with his Master, Darth Sidious when a ship was detected on the sensors around Mustafar and the viewscreen in the main control room showed the ship approaching, Vader turned to look out the window when he saw the familiar appearance of Padme's Royal Nubian Starship._

 _"What the kriff is she doing here?" Vader asked himself as he looked around the room at the corpses and the smell of charred flesh as he decided that he didn't want Padme to see any of it, "she may not understand." He reasoned as he exited the main control room and was on the platform as he looked to Padme as the ship touched down and he lowered his hood as he started to run over to her._

 _Padme saw him too and she wiped away her tears as she lowered the landing ramp and disembarked her ship and ran to meet Anakin not believing that her Anakin could do the things that Obi-Wan mentioned. "Not my Anakin," she reminded herself, "he could never do such a thing."_

 _Vader and Padme met each other on the landing pad and entered each others embrace as Vader knew that something was wrong, she was trembling and was clearly scared or nervous about something and she even had fresh tears flowing down her face but Padme was relieved to see her Anakin was safe and sound._

 _"Anakin, my Anakin." She muttered as her head was lying against Vader's chest and arms were holding him tightly. "I've been so frightened."_

 _"Shh, shh." Vader tried to comfort her as he stroked her soft silky hair and tried to assure her that she is safe and nobody could ever hurt her, or him. "You never need to worry about me. Didn't you understand? No one can hurt me. No one will ever hurt either of us."_

 _"It wasn't that, my love, it was-oh, Anakin, he said such terrible things about you." Padme said after stuttering, she couldn't even focus, why would he say such things about Anakin? He could never do such terrible things, she thought._

 _Vader cupped her face and gently lifted her chin so she was looking up at him, "about me? Who would want to say bad things about me?" Vader smiled then the smile turned to a dark laugh, "who would dare?"_

 _"Obi-Wan." She replied as she wiped away the tears. "He said-he told me you turned to the Dark Side, that you murdered Jedi... even younglings..."_

 _She was relieved to get the words out, to get them out of her mind and she waited for him to laugh or tell her that Obi-Wan was lying or was crazy, that he would never do such a thing but for a few moments he was silent. She was smiling then that smile disappeared when she looked back up at him and noticed his eyes were yellow and he was clearly angry._

 _"Obi-Wan's alive?" Vader asked coldly and the way he asked it, sent chills down Padme's spine._

 _"Y-yes-he, he said he was looking for you..." Padme stuttered again, this man was definitely not Anakin and she had no idea what was happening or who he was._

 _"Did you tell him?" Vader asked without even looking at her, he looked over her head and at the river of lava off in the distance._

 _"No, Anakin! He wants to kill you! I didn't tell him anything! I wouldn't!" She shouted as if she was offended._

 _"Too bad." Vader simply replied, he really wanted to put an end to his former Master, to fully rid himself of the Jedi and his ties to the Jedi._

 _"Anakin, what-"_

 _"He's a traitor, Padme!" Vader said cutting her off angrily. "He's an enemy of the state! He has to die!"_

 _"Stop it," she demanded. "Stop talking like that! You're frightening me!"_

 _"You're not the one who has to be afraid." He simply replied with confidence._

 _"It's like-it's like-" She started to cry again as she choked on her words. "I don't even know you anymore..."_

 _"I'm the man who loves you!" Vader quickly replied as he closed the gap between them and looked as if he meant it but Padme was frightened by whoever this man was that was standing in front of her, it looked like her Anakin but wasn't. "I'm the man who would do anything to protect you! Everything I have done, I have done for you!"_

 _"Anakin..." She bit back her words for a moment before they slipped out quietly, as if she was afraid to ask, which she was afraid to ask. "...what have you done?" She didn't want to hear the answer, she didn't want Obi-Wan to be right, he couldn't be._

 _"What I have done is bring peace to the Republic." Vader cryptically replied._

 _"The Republic is dead." She stated as a matter-of-fact in a whisper. "You killed it. You and Palpatine."_

 _Vader shrugged, "it needed to die."_

 _Padme continued to cry, she refrained from holding them all back, she released them like a damn bursting under pressure. Anakin was her whole world, her galaxy and he was gone but she wouldn't accept that, she knew this wasn't him, the real him._

 _"Anakin, can't we just go?" Padme begged as she pleaded to him, trying to bring him back to the real him, to the real world. "Please? Let's leave. Together. Today. Now. Before you-before something happens-"_

 _"Nothing will happen. Nothing can happen." Vader replied, why couldn't she see what he was doing? Why would she ask him to go now? He asked her multiple times over the years and she refused and NOW shes wants to leave when he ended the war and brought peace to the Republic... Empire. "Let Palpatine call himself Emperor. Let him. He can do the dirty work, all the messy, brutal oppression it'll take to unite the galaxy forever-unite it against him. He'll make himself into the most hated man in history. And when the time is right, we'll throw him down-"_

 _"Anakin stop-"_

 _"Don't you see? We'll be heroes. The whole galaxy will love us, and we will rule. Together." Vader said cutting her off, how dare she belittle everything he is doing! HE needs to save her and in order to save her he has to do this! He doesn't have a choice._

 _"Please stop-Anakin, please, stop, I can't stand it..."_

 _She was talking to deaf ears as Vader wasn't listening to her or even looking at her. He was looking over her shoulder and his eyes were darker than they've ever been before. He had hate and anger written all over his face and you didn't need to be Force sensitive to feel it._

 _"You..."_

 _She turned around to see who he was talking too and it was Obi-Wan exiting her ship walking down the landing ramp._

 _"Padme." Obi-Wan said. "Move away from him."_

 _"Obi-Wan?" She said confused, what was he doing on her ship? How'd he get on? "No." She said realizing that Anakin is going to believe she lied to him, betrayed him, she had to diffuse the situation before it escalated._

 _"You," Vader said growling with anger in his voice. "You brought him here..."_

 _Padme turned back and looked at him and he was looking at her and she was horrified at what she saw, Anakin never looked like this, this wasn't Anakin. His eyes were full of flame, fierce and full of anger like the lava not too far from them, they were dangerous, he was dangerous._

 _"Anakin?"_

 _"Padme, move away from him!" Obi-Wan ordered her again. "He's not who you think he is! He will harm you!"_

 _"I would thank you for this, if this was a gift." Vader said scornfully, dangerously._

 _Padme stepped back and she was hurt, mentally, physically, her heart was breaking and she couldn't stop it, Anakin was... gone._

 _"No, Anakin-no..."_

 _"Palpatine was right. Sometimes it is the closest who cannot see." Vader painfully said, he did everything for her and she betrayed him... to Obi-Wan... "I loved you too much, Padme."_

 _He looked down then back at her and made a fist and her breathing was halted and her hands reached for her neck, she was being strangled, choked and she couldn't stop it. She couldn't pry the hands off of her neck, it was the Force and she couldn't stop it._

 _"I loved you too much!" Vader said dangerously, he was hurting, it wasn't full of anger, it was full of pain. He had to let go. "To see what you are!"_

 _She kept trying to pry herself free, to try to save Anakin but she couldn't. Her world was over, her heart broken, the man she loved wholeheartedly was dead._

 _"Let her go, Anakin."_

 _Vader wasn't listening but he heard his former Master but he doesn't care about him, he isn't his Master anymore._

 _"You will not take her from me!" Vader shouted back at his former Master as he kept the hold on Padme and his focus was on her, she hurt him, she stabbed him in the heart with a lightsaber, she deserved to feel his pain._

 _Padme tried to speak, to ask him to stop, to ask him to return, to apologize, she may not have known Obi-Wan was stowed away but she came and he was on the ship, she should've known he'd do it and she led him right to her husband. But she couldn't apologize, she couldn't tell him how sorry she was, she couldn't tell him that she loved him despite what he was doing to her. Her vision faded away as she lost consciousness, her life was over, literally and figuratively._

 _"Let her go!" Obi-Wan shouted, he was never a man prone to anger but he felt it now, seeing the man he called a brother strangle his lover, strangle the woman that was carrying his child, strangle an innocent woman who has nothing to do with the current situation, an innocent bystander caught in the middle of a battle between a Jedi and a Sith._

 _"Never!" Vader shouted back but he didn't have a choice as Padme's legs gave out from under her, she fell to the ground, her head hit the ground and everyone could hear the impact._

 _Vader stood still, he was a statue frozen in time._

 _What has he done?_

 _What have I done? He asked himself but kept it concealed, he didn't say it aloud._

 _What have I done? He asked again as he placed his hands on his head and dropped to his knees as he looked at his unconscious wife._

 _"I'm so sorry, Angel..." He whispered as Mustafar faded away into nothingness..._

* * *

Vader's eyes shot open as he sat at his desk in his Imperial residential office and quickly dismissed the dream, he reminded himself that is the reason why he doesn't sleep. It always brings him back to two events, the day his wife turned on him during his attempt to save her and the day he returned to Tatooine and found his mother a month too late.

With all of the lives he took, they never bothered him, not when he was a Jedi and not as a Sith Lord.

But the death of his mother and the death of Padme, he couldn't forget them no matter how much he tried and no matter how much the betrayal of Padme hurt him, he forgave her for the betrayal even though she was dead and there wasn't anything he could to tell her that but he hoped that she would forgive him just as he has forgiven her.

He was supposed to protect his mother and his wife and he let them both down, his mother hurt the most since he was starting to forget her, her memories were fading from his mind until the premonitions hit him and he realized it was a decade since he'd last seen her.

As for Padme, that was her fault. He asked her repeatedly to leave with him, to leave this life behind and she didn't want too but then she does and that is when he doesn't want too, he had to protect her, he had to save her and he would do that at any and all costs. At the end it didn't matter, she was gone but the children were saved, her death didn't happen in vain and she lived on in them especially Leia.

He put that out of his mind as the door swung open and if it wasn't Starkiller or one of his other children then they would've been killed before they took another step with an intense wave of Force lightning.

"Master," Starkiller said as he knelt and bowed his head. "I am here as ordered."

"Rise, my Apprentice." The Emperor quickly said as he turned to look at him then walked to the window where he looked out at his denizens of Imperial Center and watched the speeders fly by in the distance, it was always pleasant to watch. "I assume you're ready to get back to life as before?"

"Most definitely." Starkiller replied with a smile as he stood next to his Master with his left hand clutched on his lightsaber in eagerness to get back to work and hunting down those who would try and kill him and his family.

"Good," Vader replied distantly. "I will be joining you, I need to get away from here and joining you in the field after so long, it'll do us both some good."

"It has been awhile." Starkiller said as he smiled, it has been awhile since he was in the field, for the both of them, that is.

"I have some stuff to do this morning, be ready at noon and meet me here then we'll walk to my private hangar and we'll fly to the Executor together. We'll then go and raid Rebel bases and track down some recent sightings of Jedi." Vader didn't put his eyes back on his son, he just kept them focused out the window. Starkiller knew something was bothering him but knew better than to ask.

"Understood, Master." Starkiller said slightly bowing then turning and leaving the office.

"Aliehna!" Vader shouted as Starkiller stood in the doorway with the door still slightly ajar and his assistant entered the office as Starkiller exited.

"Yes, My Lord?" She asked as she approached him then stood in the center of the office with a datapad in hand.

"What is my schedule like this morning?" He asked as he turned and looked at the thirty something year old human woman with long black hair and brown eyes, she wore a black skirt with a black overcoat.

"You have a meeting with Imperial High Command in thirty minutes regarding a replacement for High Admiral Motti." She began as she looked at the datapad. "You have a meeting with Master Ahsoka Tano regarding the Knights Intelligence report, you have a conference with the Loyalist Committee at ten and a private meeting with Senator Mothma representing the Security Council-"

"I will be leaving Imperial Center with Starkiller, inform Admiral Piett to have my Fleet ready at noon that is when I will be boarding and we'll leave shortly after that." Vader said effectively cutting her off, she was used to it. "Cancel all other meetings and I don't want to speak with the Loyalist Committee or the traitorous Senator Mothma. The Grand Vizier could handle that, I have better things to do than to waste my time being an administrator."

"I'll see to it," she replied as she cancelled the meetings on her datapad. "Do you know when you'll be returning?"

Vader just stared at her and raised his eyebrows with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Right," she said as she excused herself and closed the door behind her.

Vader smiled as he turned back and looked out the window, "since when did I become a mere administrator?" He asked himself as he looked back and was disgusted by his actions as of late, sitting around here and playing administrator or diplomat? He was the Grand Master Knight of the Imperial Knights and the Emperor of the Galactic Empire for crying out loud!

* * *

 **Imperial Knights Temple, Imperial City**

Leia was walking to class to teach the Youngling's in meditation for the morning before she had to depart for a mission, apparently the inhabitants sharing the same system, two different planets are fighting for mining rights over an asteroid, an asteroid that is rich with natural resources that could benefit both planets. This would normally be an issue that would fall to the Imperial Senate and would if Leia couldn't solve it as an Imperial Knight, an Imperial Diplomatic Officer.

Luke and Mara however had a different mission, one that had to do with pirate attacks on random freighters. It appears to be performed by pirates but it could also be Rebels and if that is the case then they can easily handle this on their own without Naval involvement or the involvement of the Stormtroopers.

Starkiller was back at the Temple and was already geared up when he met his Master this morning and he left for his room to pack his go bag, a bag that is prepared for trips and is ready to go at a moments notice. All Knights have a go bag but everyone of them has something different inside them.

Starkiller is a combat specialist, he loves warfare and bloodshed and therefore carries an extra lightsaber, clothes and goods to survive even though every shuttle is equipped with extra rations and supplies for that very purpose.

"Starkiller, back to work today?" Ahsoka asked him as she walked by his quarters and noticed him packing with the door wide open.

"Yes, Master." He replied with a smile as he continued to pack and checked his spare lightsaber to ensure it worked. "My Master and I are going out to pursue Rebels and Jedi."

"Oh?" She asked. "I didn't know the Emperor was planning on leaving the Center."

"Neither did I, but we met this morning and he told me to pack my bag and be ready to leave at noon." Starkiller replied as he looked to her and zipped up his bag after confirming his spare lightsaber worked as it should.

"Very well, carry on, I have a meeting with him this morning regarding intelligence matters." Ahsoka said as she stepped out of his room wearing her Knight uniform without the armor since she isn't going into a combat zone.

"Have fun." Starkiller said with a smirk as she left his room to carry on with her day as he carried on with his.

* * *

Luke and Mara were all geared up with their go bags over their shoulder as they walked toward the hangar bay but they passed Starkiller's quarters first since it was on the way and they popped their heads in, apparently he is popular again now that he was reinstated and cleared of his undercover charges.

"Hey brother," Luke said as he stepped into Starkiller's room and looked around the bland red room.

"Hey Luke," Starkiller replied with a smile."Mara, you guys heading out?"

"Affirmative, we've got a mission... an investigation, we may be away for a little while." Mara replied with a small smile on her face as she saw Starkiller was also packing.

"Well, same here." He replied. "My Master and I are heading out in a few hours to chase down some Rebels and some leads on potential Jedi."

"Really?" Luke asked, he didn't know his father was planning on leaving the capital. "He does need to get away from here, as do you."

"Tell me about it." Starkiller replied as he threw his bag over his shoulder and left with the duo. "What type of investigation are you investigating this time?"

"Some Imperial Freighters have been ambushed recently and the Imperial Navy and ISB haven't gotten anywhere in their investigation." Luke informed his brother from a different mother as they left their quarters behind and left for the hangar bay, Starkiller wasn't leaving yet but he joined them for the walk. "We suspect Rebels may be involved or the pirates have gotten organized but that isn't likely. Sensitive weapons and equipment were stolen on those freighters, Rebels are likely behind this which means that the leak who set us up before may be behind this as well."

"I see, it appears likely." Starkiller agreed wearing his black armor compared to the Knights red. "If that is the case then you both will have to take extra precautions and remember that you won't have me watching your back."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Luke retorted even though he knew he was joking.

"Anytime." Starkiller replied with a smile. "But in all seriousness, if this is connected then you will have to watch your back. It could be another ambush."

"We're aware but they tried to kill us and they won't get away with it." Mara replied seriously as she had a murderous look on her face.

"The nine Corellian Hell's hath no fury like a woman scorned..." Starkiller said looking at Luke who smiled awkwardly and looked away before Mara saw. "I know you'll catch them eventually, just keep the facts of the case to yourselves. You won't want any leads or information falling into the wrong hands."

"Oh, we will find them and I will cut their balls off if they're male, otherwise I'll just decapitate them." Mara said nonchalantly as she leaned against the doorway.

"They made a mistake by pissing you off." Starkiller remarked as they reached the hangar bay. "Have fun, just not too much fun without me..."

"No promises." Luke replied with a smile as he slapped Starkiller's arm and boarded the red Imperial Knights Lambda-class T-4a shuttle with Mara.

* * *

 **Imperial Palace, Imperial Center**

"My Lord, Master Tano is here." Aliehna said as she stood in the doorway looking at her boss sitting behind his desk typing away on the holo-keyboard for his computer.

"Send her in." He ordered and she stepped aside allowing the Togruta to walk in, she moved to the chairs across from the Emperor and took a seat.

"Ahsoka, I hope you have good news for me regarding the Director." Vader said skipping the pleasantries and jumping right to the point, as always.

"We have him under the full surviellance package and everything he does or says will be recorded but he hasn't slipped up yet." Ahsoka informed him knowing that isn't what he wanted to hear but it has only been a day. "Luke and Mara are currently starting an investigation that may be connected and I'll keep them updated if the Director is connected to that but its just a matter of time then we'll have something concrete."

"Very well, keep them informed and coordinate this investigation with them." He ordered not liking the fact that he couldn't interrogate the Director, there were few he couldn't torture and this man was one of them, he could withstand it. "I want to be kept apprised of everything, loop me into the surviellance package and have everything relayed to me as it comes in. I will be away for sometime with Starkiller but I'll have the Executor and my Fleet with me therefore just have everything relayed to my flagship."

"As you wish, Master." Ahsoka said with a slight bow as she looked at her former Jedi Master and current Grand Master Knight, that was one thing that stayed consistent, Master.

"Ahsoka," he said as he sighed and walked towards her. "I know it was only a day and I am brash and even more impatient than I was as a Jedi but I glad that you're here. The Jedi betrayed the both of us all of those years ago and they brought their doom amongst themselves, I am glad that you left the Jedi. It made my turn to the Dark Side a whole lot easier, you were one of the Jedi, the only one that I wouldn't have been able to kill."

Ahsoka had a ghost of a smile on her face as she nodded, "I may not have agreed with their extermination, well maybe not the younglings who didn't know any better but I understood in the end that whether or not you did it, they still would've been killed. I am glad that you weren't amongst them and I am glad that you quickly came to the realization of just how evil Emperor Palpatine truly was."

"I knew he was evil but when I turned it was for Padme and my unborn twins, of course I didn't know they were twins but you knew I could never let go and I still can't." Vader said looking down at Ahsoka and placing his hand on her shoulder, "I know that me acting this way isn't easy for you as compared to before but I became a different person that day. I know I am telling you a little late, sixteen years late but I relive that day over and over again and the nightmare of my mother dying in my arms and me Force choking Padme, they haunt me just as they did this morning. I envy the Jedi that were able to detach themselves from their emotions, but you and I and all of our Knights could never do that and that is what makes us strong. We don't fear anything and we don't let anyone or anything stand in our path."

"I agree, the Jedi weren't willing to do what it took to achieve victory." Ahsoka agreed with a smile that her Master finally opened up to her and admitted his faults. "I am thankful that you opened up to me, though. It was difficult for me to deal with your change but over the years you have become more like Anakin, a more improved and enhanced Anakin."

"I don't know if that is a compliment or an insult..." Vader replied with his half smile, the only real smile he has in him anymore except when his children are involved. "I did change, I had too for Luke and Leia and the galaxy. I wanted Sidious dead and I killed him, I took this for myself like a truth Sith and then I fulfilled my prophesy and destroyed the Sith and the Jedi creating balance in the Knights. That is why I had to kill everyone of them, younglings included. It was my destiny to create this, the will of the Force."

"I understand, you have no need to explain yourself to me." Ahsoka said as she place her hand over Vader's. "I knew who you were as a Jedi and I know who you are now. You just want there to be no more bloodshed, no more war, no more needless deaths. The Rebels want you to commit atrocities to further their goals and to recruit more to their cause but we'll end them and if they think that a few people out of trillions and trillions could defeat the Empire, they are sorely mistaken. They'd have to destroy the Knights and the Imperial Military just to get there and even if they managed that, they aren't supported by the population. They are seen as terrorists, idealists in a bygone era. They brought this upon themselves when they elected Senator Palpatine to the Chancellorship and then kept him in power and gave him more and more power which led to the Empire. Their actions brought upon this and now they have to deal with it."

"Whether they like it or not, that they do." Vader agreed as he pulled his hand away and looked out the window, clasping his hands behind his back. "I'm going to hunt some of them down and release my rage upon them, I need to get out of here and become me again instead of acting like Sidious and allowing my people to have all of the fun. Starkiller is reaching the end of his Apprenticeship and will be promoted to Master, these will be our last few missions together before then. He doesn't know it yet but he will soon enough."

"He deserves it." Ahsoka replied joining her Master as they both looked out the window, they didn't know what it was but it was peaceful and soothing... "He was sloppy yesterday against Luke, that or Luke has improved greatly. I think it was the latter, Luke is becoming as powerful as you were, he isn't on par with you yet... I don't think anyone will really reach your level."

"I am the Chosen one." Vader said shrugging, "midichlorians brought me into the universe, it only makes sense that I will be the strongest. Luke and Leia will be just as strong but Starkiller is the son of two Jedi, that is how he got his strength. He would've made a horrible Jedi, good thing they were eliminated before he was born."

"True, like you, he would've been held back and not allowed to reach his full potential." Ahsoka pointed out, another valid point, the Jedi liked to restrain their Jedi and the Jedi Council liked to abhor their power. They feared it even though they said they feared nothing, that wasn't true they feared many things.

"Yeah, Sidious used that to lure me as well, it was enticing and it worked then he betrayed me and died like the rest." As much as he hated the man, he thanked him for making him who he is but the main source of his hatred was for not saving Padme but then again he couldn't since Obi-Wan took her and fled for her to die within the day later. "I took up enough of your time and I need some quiet time for myself before departing, maintain the fort. I don't know how long we'll be gone for."

"Will do, Master." Ahsoka said slightly bowing her head as she turned and walked out of his majestic oval office and walked to the speeder bay to get back to the Temple.

Vader merely stood in his favorite spot in the office and continued to glare at the passing speeders that flew along with their lives like nothing mattered, it was refreshing and exactly why he had to carry the weight on his shoulders and the shoulders of the Knights.

They had to fight to let them live obliviously, let them live their life in peace, that was their duty.

* * *

Vader had his quiet time and was ready to go as he was waiting for Starkiller to arrive at the Palace before heading out but it was thirty minutes before noon and he wasn't told to report until noon but he knew that Starkiller would arrive early like usual. Starkiller above all others hated to disappoint his Master, he would do anything he ordered knowing it was the right thing to do and knowing he could carry out the task, no matter the cost.

Starkiller also knew that Vader wouldn't send him into a situation that was unwinnable, the Knights don't believe in unwinnable situations, neither does the Empire at large and Vader isn't the type to sacrifice his people... ever.

Starkiller strolled into the office, just as Vader knew he would as he sensed his Force presence and followed him as made his way to the Palace and without a word, he led him out and they started to walk to the Emperor's shuttle hangar bay.

"It'll be nice getting back out there and feeling the fear in our enemies eyes!" Vader said with a dark smile as his eyes glowed yellow, he was just as eager as Starkiller to get back out there.

"I'm surprised that you waited this long," Starkiller replied as he slung his bag over his shoulder and adjusted his lightsaber.

"You and me both." Vader agreed as they reached the bay and boarded his Lambda-class T-4a shuttle that was modified more than any other and capable of much more than any other Lambda-class T-4a shuttle but that shouldn't come to a surprise to anyone. "I was torturing myself by doing stuff that the Grand Vizier could've been doing."

After a short trip the Master and his Apprentice reached the Executor and landed in the Emperor's private hangar bay.

* * *

 **Imperial Super Star Destroyer Executor**

They landed in the hangar bay and lowered the landing ramp as they disembarked the shuttle and walked up the aisle as the Troops and the various Guards stood to the left and right with the Shadow Guard flanking the Emperor as he and Starkiller left the shuttle behind and walked towards the Admiral, General and Marshall Commander.

All three men knelt on the ground with their heads bowed, per tradition and the Emperor stopped before them with his black cloak finally catching up to him and coming to a rest.

"Rise and follow me." The Emperor ordered as he and Starkiller left the hangar bay and started to walk to the turbolift to take to the bridge level and then to the conference room to discuss where to go to first and to discuss their plans of attack.

The Emperor and Starkiller together are an unstoppable force, just Starkiller and his eight Noghri Death Commando's were more than enough but Starkiller by himself could take down a whole Rebel base.

The Emperor definitely can take down a whole Rebel base and the Rebels would definitely try to take him down but would be unsuccessful as they would find their weapons would be out of their care and their necks would be snapped before they could believe the sight before their eyes.

If you have the Emperor on your ass then you know you're dead.

If you have Starkiller on your ass then you know you're dead.

If you have the Emperor and Starkiller on your ass then you definitely know you're dead.

In a short time the Emperor, Starkiller, Admiral Piett, General Veers and Marshall Commander Appo arrived in the conference room and Vader activated the rectangular holotable.

"Admiral, General, Marshall, Starkiller and I will be getting active again in the field and we'll need to coordinate our offensive attacks." The Emperor stated as he stood as the men stood around the table as they looked as a planet appeared above the table and zoomed in on a fully established Rebel base. "There are very few bases like these, but we have one here and Starkiller and I will take it down. Appo, I'll need you and your men to provide support but I just want your Stormtroopers to remain on the perimeter outside until Starkiller and I destroy them. Admiral Piett, I want you to coordinate with the Fleet and ensure an effective blockade. General Veers, I want you to..." He lost his train of thought as he realized there was nothing for the General to do here except nope the TIE's could do that. "...well you can join the Stormtroopers on the ground if you wish but we don't need your men on this mission but don't worry, when we hunt down the Jedi and attack other planets, you'll be needed then."

"I will see to it, Lord Vader." Admiral Piett said with his hands clasped behind his back, everyone had their hands clasped behind their back behind Vader who was pointing out what he was telling them.

"I know you will Firmus, we'll probably need some TIE's, might as well put a squadron on standby." The Emperor ordered as he turned to Appo. "Appo, we'll just need a company on this one. Starkiller and I will raid the compound by ourselves, we need this."

"Understood, sir!" Appo replied like he always did as a Clone Trooper then as a Stormtrooper, Vader had to admit he liked them more than most people.

"Any questions?" Vader asked as he looked around and it appeared the General had some questions or at least one.

"Do you know if they have shield generators or defensive turrets or the like?" General Veers asked as Vader looked to Starkiller then to the holomap.

"No idea, most bases don't though and none were reported stolen." Vader pointed out but it is possible especially for a base this size. "Might as well prepare some AT-AT's just in case but hopefully we won't need them."

"I will have them standing by just in case." The General confirmed and had no other questions.

"Very well, this planet is eight hours away." The Emperor said looking around and deactivating the holomap. "We have more bases and Jedi to go after, after this mission but we won't talk about those until this mission is over. We'll focus on these one at a time and go from there. Starkiller we're going to go practice like we used too, the rest of you are dismissed, inform us when we're there and Admiral don't make an idiotic mistake like Ozzel, I like you but I won't accept failure. I want this to be a surprise, they may see us coming but don't exit hyperspace too close to the planet."

"I understand, My Lord." The Admiral replied and did a good job of not appearing to be startled by the open threat but he knew better than to supersede the Emperor's orders like Admiral Ozzel did on more than one occasion.

"I know you do, dismissed." The Emperor said turning his attention to Starkiller and motioning for him to follow him and leave for the training room that is purposed only for the Emperor.

* * *

 **Imperial Knights Lambda-class T-4a Shuttle 321**

Luke and Mara were sitting in their shuttle as they flew to one of the more recent attacks, it had only happened when they just left the Knights Temple. It was an Imperial Freighter, like all of the others and like all of the others, it was ambushed and boarded with all hands onboard being killed or taken captive. At least that is what they believe considering that not all of those on the manifest were with the ship when it was discovered and it is highly unlikely that they were involved considering the numbers and intelligence believes they were taken hostage or used for other purposes.

"What is this number six?" Mara asked as she was trying to kill the silence as she and Luke repeatedly went through the various reports from Intelligence, ISB and the Imperial Navy.

"Affirmative, this attack makes number six and apparently the Super Star Destroyer Annihilator was the first to arrive." Luke replied with a look, they all knew how Grand Admiral Thrawn was especially towards Knights believing they didn't belong in battle but he made sure to show the utmost respect to Luke since he was more than just a Master Knight, he was the Heir to the Throne and that always deserves respect and courtesy regardless of how you feel about them or what they do.

"Grand Admiral Thrawn, he does know that this is our case, right?" Mara asked not really wanting to get into a squabble with the Grand Admiral.

"He is the one who contacted me, apparently Master Tano reported that we were investigating therefore he contact me to let me know." Luke confirmed as the alarm started to beep and he pushed the lever forward as they exited hyperspace. "It is always best to investigate the most recent attack, I just know that we need to apprehend this bastards or kill them regardless of what or who they are."

"Do you think its just pirates or do you think its the Rebels trying to get their hands on weapons to arm themselves or to keep them out of our hands?" Mara asked as they looked ahead out the viewport and saw the debris of the ship. It could be boarded but the freighter was badly damaged and the cargo crates were missing.

"I will let you know when I know." Luke quietly said as the Annihilator contacted them and Luke accepted the transmission as the Grand Admiral appeared as hologram. "Grand Admiral Thrawn, I see the attacks are becoming more and more violent."

"That they are, Master Skywalker." The blue Chiss with the red eyes said as he had his hands clasped behind his back with all of the decoration being clearly visible despite the blue hologram. "I know this is now a Knights investigation but I would like to participate. These people are violent and have killed and has taken numerous Imperial hostages from the Stormtroopers and Naval Officers."

"I am open to that, Thrawn as long as you remain in a supportive role instead of trying to hijack this case from us like you have other Knights in the past." Luke said in a tone that left no room for argument, you don't question the orders of a Master Knight especially not one of the Imperial Prince's on a case that is clearly their jurisdiction, this case is a threat to the Empire and is clearly their jurisdiction.

"If you were a Knight that didn't know how to investigate, I may try that but you aren't any Knight and I know you know how to investigate crimes like these and are willing to do what it takes to find the monsters responsible like I am." Thrawn replied in his menacing voice that fit his appearance.

"Good, then we'll land in your hangar bay and go over what we know and go from there." Luke finally said looking at Mara who just sighed as Thrawn smiled.

"You may land in hangar 97."

* * *

 **Argovia, Argovia System**

Leia landed her shuttle on Argovia as she was assigned to deal with a mining rights issue. Argovia is home to a mining company and apparently the dispute wasn't between neighboring planets, it was between mining companies. One mining company already had rights to Argovia but set up shop on an asteroid when another mining company discovered the asteroid and set up shop on the otherside before the original company discovered the other and started to act hostilely to the second company, this wasn't an Imperial Senate problem, nope it was one that Leia could handle on her own.

Leia, unlike her father and brothers are more like her mother in the sense that she is more of a politician or diplomat whereas her brothers and father just like to strike down these people. They never fight over money or trivial issues like natural resources and they run the galaxy, such matters are beneath them but to mining companies, this is their livelihood.

Mining companies make treaties with inhabited planets or they claim uninhabited planets or asteroids, moons, comets and so on and set up shop and they are able to if they are the first. If a company already claims an uninhabited system or makes a treaty with an inhabited planet or system then they have the sole rights to mine what the treaty states they're eligible to mine.

This meeting was taking place in a transparisteel, three story prefabricated building... casino and was the heart and soul of Argovia City which was just a small mining town with the casino being their only real entertainment and hang out. Mining companies were never fair and they were always cheap and Leia hated them along with the rest of her family but they were necessary and this one in particular has a contract with the Empire for the precious natural resources on this planet.

Leia hated not only the company but also the miners, she was alone on this one, it was her choice and she wanted to handle this by herself which isn't bright but the rest of her family was leaving Imperial Center and so was she.

She landed her shuttle at the Imperial Sensor Net Complex and shut down her shuttle as she lowered the landing ramp and took her remote with her to lock it up and secure it.

She was greeted by a Stormtrooper who saluted her, it wasn't required for a Master Knight to be saluted but then again she wasn't a regular Master Knight or a regular Knight at all.

"At ease, Sergeant." She said after looking for his rank and she motioned for him to join her as she entered the complex and walked through the durasteel sliding doors and through the lobby where the Sergeant led the way to the Commander's office.

"Master Skywalker, welcome to Argovia!" Commander Reyes of the Imperial Navy said as he stood and saluted the Master out of respect for her Imperial position.

"Thank you, Commander." Leia replied with a smile. "You know that I have to mediate the trade dispute and we all know how slimy these miners could be, I can handle myself but should I require assistance..."

"We'll have you covered, you can take two Stormtroopers for security if you wish or you can just contact us if you need the assistance." The Commander replied knowing where she was going and he head a feeling she would decline the backup because it could make her look weak but there is nothing wrong with putting safety first.

"I appreciate it, I don't need them with me but they could guard the room to make sure no one gets too rowdy or acts like a Neimoidian..." Leia didn't need to finish that sentence, he no doubt knew what she meant.

"The miners are known to act just as that, especially when drunk or just getting off duty." He said as sat down behind his desk. "The miners from the night shift actually just get off duty, they work twelve hour shifts here following Standard time not planetary time."

"Great! Nothing I like more than getting hit on by a bunch of miners..." Leia said turning to leave the room, "I'm going to go get this over with, thank you Commander." Leia left the room and was joined by the Sergeant who escorted her in and another Stormtrooper who must've been new since he displayed no rank insignia but not all do.

They left the complex together and started to walk to the casino to begin mediation.

"This should be fun..." Leia muttered to herself as she and her Stormtrooper escorts crossed the dirt road to enter the small town full of prefabricated buildings and the casino stood out as the largest and most currently occupied as they stood out in the crowd as the ones wearing white Stormtrooper armor and red Imperial Knights armor which is unmistakable especially among the dirty miners and corporate executives in their expensive clothing trying to show off...

* * *

 **That's a wrap for Chapter 6!**

 **Things are starting to return to normal and normal is usually chaos, as it is never peaceful in the Star Wars Galaxy(ies) but the next chapter will be full of action, this one just had to happen as everything starting to return to normal although these six chapters have only happened over the course of four straight days.**

 **I was hinting at the possibility of Padme being brought back to life... does anyone want to see that? I think that could definitely be interesting, this could go in many different directions.**

 **Please review or PM me!**

 **If you have any ideas or suggestions or the like, please let me know! I will include them in future chapters!**


End file.
